Racing Through the Desert
by Sophia Rosalie Gibbs
Summary: Sequel to You Wanna Bet? I'm 20 now, and uncle Danny has decided to give me a 2nd chance. Gaara's on his way to becoming Kazekage. Will our love survive through some crazy, yet funny experiences?
1. Hoopla!

**Chapter 1:** **Hoopla!**

I woke up to the droll voice of the DJ on my alarm clock. I slapped the snooze button and got out of bed.

Oh Boggy, I still felt like sleeping! I looked around my room and sighed. There were bras and other happy stuff scattered all on my dorm room floor. College hadn't started yet, and my room was still a complete mess. Was I always such a messy person?

I walked cautiously across my floor, not wanting to fall and end up with some bras and panties on my head. (Sheesh.. What a great mental picture to think about...)

I found my favorite green summer dress and put it on. I looked in the mirror and sighed. "Did this dress always make my boobs look so huge?" I asked my reflection.

I made a face and adjusted Gaara's necklace. It's been apart of my wardrobe since he'd given it to me. "You're so stupid, Esther. You'll probably never see him again."

I walked over to my tiny kitchen and ate breakfast. The door opened while I was eating and Jeni barged in the room, a large box in her arms.

"Do you know what knocking is, Jeni?" I teased as I put my dishes away.

She laughed and put the package down on my table. "Sorry, I'll try to remember to do that next time. Anyway, a package came for you, so I'd thought I'd drop it off."

I turned around. "Cool! Thanks a bunch!" She shrugged and waved goodbye. "Well, I must be going. See you around, Esther." She walked out the door before I could say another word. Oh boggy..

I went up to the package and saw an envelope attached. I opened it, and a small note fell out. It read: _Esther, you're 20 now. I can't believe it. You should pack up this time. I'm sure that you'll the right choices, now that you're an adult. -Uncle Danny_

I gasped. Was this another painting that could bring me back?! I screamed happily and grabbed my duffle bag.

I dumped all of my stuff out of it and ran to my closet. I pushed my summer dresses into the bag, with a few pairs of ballet slippers. I kept the forest green ones out and slipped them on. Comfort is a key in fashion!

I slung the bag around my shoulder and stared at the package. Oh boggy jones and tammy dodger!! I hope it was!

I ripped off the wrapping paper and opened the large white box that was inside. In that box was tons of tissue paper and those little foam peanut thingies. I threw them off quickly, to find what was inside of the mysterious package.

Inside of the box, stood a beautiful painting. It was a painting of the sun hitting a beautiful desert, making it shine. I smiled and realized that this was the desert that was outside of the Sand village. (I love my uncle! Hoopla!)

I peered at the painting, until I felt the color surround me. I squealed happily and felt like I was floating like a cloud in the air. I wasn't scared, just anxious to get back.

I closed my eyes, and found that I was falling. Falling to the place that I missed the most. Hoopla!

AN: The sequel!! I'm so excited! Please review!


	2. Happy Reunion

**Chapter 2: The Happy Reunion**

I landed onto the soft desert sand with a small thud. Oh Boggy Jones, I hope I didn't get any sand in my bra! Sure enough, I didn't so everything was good to go.

I got up and brushed myself off. I found my duffel bag a few feet away from me and grabbed it before I forgot about in this excitement.

I turned around, and sure enough I could see the opening that led to the village. Hoopla in its highest degree! (If that's even possible)

With a happy scream, I started running towards the village. This was the best thing ever! I wonder all that's happened after I left. Did the sand sibs still want to be friends with me after I had just left them pretty much on a moment's notice?

Once safely inside the village, I made my way through the streets to their house, using the hazy memories in my mind. I can't to see all of them. What a zippiddy do da day! (Ah, the classics!)

I stopped at the sandy rock house and sighed. This was it. I gulped down the anxiousness that I was feeling and used all of my courage to knock on the door.

A few moments passed, and finally the door opened up. Temari was standing on the other side. She looked at me, and her mouth hung open like I asked her to model for Victoria's Secret. Oh joy.

"ESTHER?!" she screamed, nearly shattering my ear drums. Oh skittles and pancakes..was she always this loud?

I smiled. "Hey Temari!" She screamed again, and gave me a hug. (More like a glomp, but meh...) She let go and started talking a million words per second.

I laughed, and she immediately shut up. "What are you doing here? When did you get here?"She asked, ushering me inside.

"I just got here. My uncle gave me another chance to come back. Isn't that awesome?!" She nodded. "It's more than awesome! Welcome back to our home!"

I looked around, and saw that no one else was home. "Speaking of home, where are the others? Don't tell me that you're living by yourself."

She laughed. "No, I'm not. Kankuro is out on a mission and Gaara is at the office, working on becoming Kazekage."

I nodded. Oh Tammy Dodger.. He was about to be Kazekage already? "That makes a whole lot more sense. When does Gaara come home?"

Temari sighed. "Pretty late on most days. Most days, it seems like he's forcing himself to stay so late. It's like he needs time to think about something. Nothing's been the same since you left here, Esther."

I sighed. "Same here."

She smiled. "You want to go see Gaara?"

OF COURSE I WANTED TO SEE GAARA!! I smiled. "That would be wonderful. You sure that he'd like a visitor?"

Temari laughed. "I don't think he'd really care. It's you after all."

I wasn't sure of what she knew, so I just nodded.

"Well, if you are ready, we should leave now. Do you feel okay?"

I shrugged. "I always ready to do something. You going to lead the way?"

She giggled and walked towards the door. "Of course, since you've been gone for how long? Years, maybe?"

I laughed and dropped my stuff down on the ground. "Yeah, I guess."

She nodded and led me out the door.


	3. Emo Lad

**Chapter 3: The Emo Lad**

Temari talked non-stop all the way to the large building in the center of the village. I was half-listening, because my thoughts were on Gaara. _Did he change a lot? Was he really busy? Did he love someone else?_

I shook the last question out of mu head just as we got to the building. I followed behind Temari, who had suddenly stopped talking. Oh Boggy, that made everything a whole lot more stressful than it probably had to be.

Temari stopped outside of a closed door, and I practically ran into her because I wasn't paying attention. I sighed, and Temari turned to me. "Can you wait here? It'd be great if we could surprise him."

I nodded, making her smile. She gave me a thumbs up and opened up the door. I forced myself to breathe, because I was so scared of what Gaara was going to say when he saw me. Oh dear Boggy Jones and Tammy Dodger!! Please help me!!

Luckily, Temari had left the door open, so I could hear their entire conversation:

"Hey, Gaara." Temari said, her voice actually maintaining its regular pitch.

"Temari? What are you doing here?" Gaara's voice came. It sounded deeper, making him seem much older than he was 4 years ago.

"I brought the visitor who came to see you today."

He moaned. "What visitor? I don't like visitors. Tell them to go away."

My heart gave a sad little pang. Gaara didn't want to see me? I guess that he was way over me. I'm sure that there are some much pretty girls in the-

"Gaara, if you knew who it was, you wouldn't be saying this." Temari said with an edge of attitude dripping from her comment. She coughed loudly, letting me know that that was my cue.

I gave a deep breath, trying to wipe out all the doubts I had on my mind. With the skittle size courage I had, I made my feet work and lead me into the room.

Gaara was standing in the middle of the room. He was much taller, but still had that warm red hair that made my heart twist and turn like a 70s dancer. The gaze his bluish eyes held was shockingly cold and irritated, but soon softened as we locked eyes.

He turned to look at me more closely. "Esther? Is that you?" He asked, probably not believing his eyes.

Oh Boggy Jones!! It was so good to see him! I started to tear up, and I ran over to him. I wrapped my arms around him, catching him off guard.

He gave a small "Oomph.." , but ended up hugging me back tightly.

I started to cry out of joy. "I missed you so much!" I cried, my tears running onto the fabric on his shoulder. He patted me on the back, hushing my tears.

We hugged for a few more moments, and then remembered that Temari was still in the room. We let go and I wiped the tears with the back of my hands.

Gaara brought me a chair and we all sat down in the quaint little office. We just started chatting about anything that we could. I told them about life back in our world, while they filled me in on things that had happened in their world.

Four years had passed in both worlds, so Gaara was 20 and Temari was 22.(Sheesh.. We're getting really old!) I was glad that there wasn't a time thingy mabobber that I had to force into my already packed brain.

"Any idea why you came back?" Gaara asked.

I gave a light shrug. "It was through another painting, but this time there was a note attached. It said that I should make the right decisions, and that will decide what will happen to me."

He nodded and turned to Temari. "Did you offer Esther anything before you left?"

Temari gasped, and gave herself a smack on the head. (AKA Face Palm!) "I'm so sorry! I'll go home and finish cooking!" With that, she got up and left the room in a hurry. After she left, Gaara let out a small chuckle.

"What's so funny?" I demanded, crossing my arms.

He pointed to my dress. "You are. Last time I remember, your favorite color was blue, not green."

I blushed. He remembered what my favorite color was! "I felt like wearing green. If you want, I'll wear my blue dress tomorrow."

His face turned beet red and he looked away. I giggled, letting him know that it was alright. His face turned back to its regular shade and her got up. "We should get going before it gets too dark."

I nodded and got up from the chair. We walked out of the building, in a some what awkward silence. We couldn't say what we really wanted to say since we were out in public. It seemed like such a long walk back to the house.

Gaara opened the door and let me in. I stepped inside with him, where I smelled the mouth-watering aroma. "Wow! Was Temari always such a good cook?? I forget so easily!" I squealed.

Gaara just snorted and walked off to the kitchen. I walked off behind him, wondering if it was true or not.

AN: Sorry to all! I wasn't feeling well so I didn't post soon! Thanks to all who review!! I'd really like some candy, if you don't mind!XD


	4. UnKept Promises

**Chapter 4: Kept or Unkept Promises?**

"Wow!" I squealed, looking at the ginormous amount of food Temari put out on the table.

Gaara scoffed. "Always trying to impress the guest, Temari. Are you trying to make her fat in the process?"

I sat down next to him, slapping him playfully in the arm. "Idiot! I'm already fat!"

Gaara shook his head. "Sheesh, woman. Who told you that you were fat?"

Temari laughed and sat down. "Stop talking about if she's fat or not and start eating. This took me forever!"

I nodded and started eating. By Boggy, it was the best food I'd ever eaten! "This is wondermus!" I squealed.

Temari looked over at Gaara and started laughing. He chuckled and kept eating. I realized that they didn't use all the weird words we used, so I ended up laughing this time.

"You brought clothes this time, right?" Temari asked.

I nodded. "I brought plenty of stuff! No more shopping!" The scene that happened the first time I had eaten with the sand sibs flashed in my head, the glares from Kankuro and Gaara so close, it seemed like it had happened yesterday. Oh skittles and pancakes...

Gaara poked me, making me squeal like a little gerbil. The two broke out in laughter and I just sat there, glaring at Gaara. "I didn't know you could make such a funny noise!" Temari teased.

I crossed my arms, making them laugh even more. Finally, I gave in and smiled.

We finished eating and I started to yawn. "If it's alright with you, I'll go to bed."

Gaara nodded. "Good night, Esther."

I took my bag and headed down into Temari's room where the spare bed still was. I changed into my pajamas and slipped into bed. I fell asleep easily, dreaming of what had happened today.

I woke up by instinct, the morning sky still pretty dark. I slipped quietly out of the house and out to the desert. I sat and stared at the sun coming out across the desert sky. I warmed up my vocals and sang a few lines of a song that I always sang in the morning. It always left me smiling and in a good mood.

Even if I wouldn't have a good day, I'd have a good start. I got back up and made my way to the house. I closed the door quietly behind me and walked to the stairs. Gaara was standing there, his eyes looking tired.

"Where did you go?" He asked.

"I was just doing my morning exercises. Why are you up?"

He yawned. "I'm always a light sleeper. I heard you close the front door, so I woke up."

I bit my lip. "I'm so sorry! You can go back to sleep if you want!!"

He shook his head. "No. Let's just be quiet and let Temari keep sleeping. You never want to see her without a full night's sleep."

I gave a quiet giggle and walked upstairs with Gaara. I sat down at the table while he fixed us some tea.

I fidgeted with the necklace he gave me. It was still as beautiful as the first time I had saw it.

"I guess that you kept you promise, Esther." Gaara said, putting the two cups of tea down on the table.

I nodded. "Of course. What about you?"

He put his index finger up, telling me to wait a second. He dug around in his outfit for a few moments. He pulled out the blue ribbon that I had given to him. "I kept my promise, too."

I smiled, letting a few tears fall down my face. He did keep his promise. I wiped the tear away and Gaara looked me in the eye. "Do you mind if I keep it?"

I shook my head. "Of course not."

**AN**: Ah, a slow chapter. Much more to come!! Thanks to all who review!


	5. Return of Cat Man

Memo: This happens 4 days later! Enjoy my story!

**Chapter 5: Kankuro's Return**

"Hurry up!" Temari screeched as Gaara and I cleaned the house.

I sighed and mutter "Yes, mother.." under my breath. Gaara heard me and swatted me with his dusty cloth. The dust came into my nose, making me sneeze like a hyped squirrel. He laughed quietly and kept cleaning.

We finished cleaning, and I leaned against the doorway that led downstairs. Gaara grabbed my cleaning supplies and ran away as Temari scolded us like little children for playing more than we cleaned. "Kankuro's going to so happy to see you, but being covered in dust was not the best idea." She said, the stress in her voice clearly shown.

"Sorry, I'll go change." I suggested, wanting to escape from the new side of Temari I'd only seen on the tv show.

She opened her mouth, but there was a knock on the door. She sighed, and walked over to the doorway. I relaxed and slumped against the doorway. _Sheesh.. She sure is scary. No wonder Shikamaru said all that stuff.._

"Kankuro!! Welcome home!" Temari's cheerful voice came. _Man.. She should so be an actress.._

"Hey Temari! Miss me any?" Kankuro's voice came. It hadn't changed that much, since he was practically grown-up last time I had seen him. The years sure have flown by..

I heard heavy footsteps coming my way. I stood up straighter, not wanting to look like a hunchback when Kankuro saw me. (Not that I really care what cat man thinks of me. I never did.)

Kankuro came into view. He looked at me, then looked away. Then, his eyes drifted back to mine, larger than they were before. "Esther?" He asked, acting a ton like Gaara did when we first remet.

I nodded, and he ran over to me. He picked me up and gave me a huge hug. "Oh my gosh! When did you decide to show up? This is awesome!" He yelled. This made me laugh, but I couldn;t really breathe. _Oh skittles and pancakes.._

"I... no...air..." I gasped, making him put me down.

I took a deep breath and smiled at him. "Hi Kankuro. How was your mission?"

He gave me a wave of his hand. "That can't wait until later. I want to hear about you." He grabbed me by the hand and led me into the kitchen.

"How'd you get here? Not that I'm upset that you're here." He said, sitting me down in a chair.

"Well... I got another painting from my uncle and I got a note with it, so I was all set."

He nodded. "You know, it's really good to see you again, Esther." He gave me a happy smile, though I could tell that he was tired from his mission and traveling.

I forced a smile and nodded. _Sheesh.. Please let cat man be over me. WAY over me. For the sake of Boggy Jones and Tammy Dodger PLEASE!!! _

**AN:** Thanks to all who are reading! Hoshi-star wrote a story called Stalker or Stalkee. Please read and review! She's a newbie! XD


	6. Missed Friends

Memo: I'm really lazy right now... 'Kay, well this happens five days later. They met up with Baki, who was overjoyed to see Esther and sends them on their way to Konoha. Enjoy!! XD

**Chapter 6: Missed Friends**

The sun was shining high since the morning. Cat man and Temari were casually talking, while Gaara and I watched the passing scenery. It was mostly trees and shrubs, but from time to time, there were a few animals who came into view. Overall, it would have been really boring if Gaara wasn't here with me.

The forest finally came to a clearing, and the gates of Konoha were finally in sight. "We're here!" Temari cried happily, walking at a faster pace.

Kankuro shook his head as we all watched her zoom off to the gates. The closer I got, I could make out some figures at the gates. Oh pancakes, was I happy to go back to Konoha! We finally got to the gates, and everyone from before was there, smiling their heads off.

"Hey guys!!" Naruto called, coming to meet Gaara. He scanned my face, and gasped. "Esther?!"

I nodded. "Hey again!"

He smacked his face and gave me a huge hug. "Gaara told me that you left to some other place and now you're back! Awesome!!" I laughed and the rest of the group gathered around me.

"Twin sis!!" Kiba said, picking me up. I giggled. "What's up, twin bro?" He laughed and put me down. "You were!"

The rest of the group laughed , making Kiba smiled even bigger. Sakura came over and gave me a girly hug. "All the girls in Konoha missed you! We tried to have an awesome party like the one you threw, but it couldn't match up." I shrugged. "I'm flattered. Thanks!"

Tenten came up, smiling her head off. "This is totally awesome! We were just expecting Temari and her brothers, but you make it even better!" She let go of me and pulled me over to the group of guys hanging around in the back. "Hey guys! Remember Esther?"

Lee smiled. "Of course I remember Esther! She showed her youthfulness in that wonderful party!" (Me inwardly: -mouth open- Er lack.)

Neji , Sasuke, and Shino all nodded. Well, I guess that they were glad to see me. I scanned the crowd. "Hey, Tenten. Where's Choji, Hinata, and Ino?"

She smiled. "Don't worry. They had a really important mission that they had to do. They should be back soon, if all went well."

I walked back to where Gaara was standing, talking to Naruto. Kankuro was talking to Kiba and Neji, and Temari was laughing with Shikamaru. _Everything's so nostalgic.._

"HEY EVERYBODY!!!" Kiba roared, breaking me out of my thoughts. "What?!" Some people yelled back at him.

"Anyone want to come to a party?! I'm throwing one for Esther coming back at my house!"

Everyone started cheering and I couldn't help but smile. Kiba was the type of person you could count on to want to have a fun rime, no matter what. No wonder he's my twin bro!

Now another party.. But what would happen this time?Oh Boggy Jones was this going to be one interesting party for sure!

**AN**: Ah.. This is going to be soooo much fun to write! Please review if ya like it! Thanks to all who already review!


	7. A Mixed Night Pt1

**Chapter 7: A Mixed Night**

"Party, party. I think that's the word that they've labeled you with, Esther." Temari said jokingly, as the four of us walked down the darkened Konoha streets to Kiba's house.

I gave a shrug. "I don't really mind. I makes me feel special that everyone's in a good mood when I come back to town. I thought their first reaction when I walked back in with you guys was going to be 'hey, what's with the weird girl trailing you guys?', or something like that."

Temari smiled. "We ninjas have great memory."

Oh boggy did I know that. I glanced down at Gaara's necklace which was tucked behind my navy blue dress. I smiled for a moment, then looked away, not wanting to let Temari think that I was staring at my boobs. That would have been very, very awkward. (Oh Tammy Dodger, I start with my boobs AGAIN. Do you think I have a problem?)

As we approached the gates of Kiba's house, we could already hear the upbeat music streaming out into the streets. Everyone's mood seemed to lift at the sound of it, except for Gaara. I don't think that upbeat music could ever make a sad soul like him ever cheer up.

"I'm so ready to party!" Temari said, grabbing my hands with a big grin plastering her face.

"We all know why you're happy to come to this party. You and that deer boy just got closer and closer after Esther left." Kankuro said, making a face.

I started to laugh as Temari shot him a look. Oh boggy, even when they were mad at each other, they were still so much fun. Gaara snorted in his usual unhappiness, but the two older siblings just ignored him and continued, talking and arguing quietly between the two of them. Gaara slipped next to me, sending me another one of his stares, filled with silent words that I couldn't read. I just sent him a smile and he looked away into the night sky. Even after being away for so long, it still like he was still as cold as a fur less cat walking through a snow storm.

As we walked into the gates of Kiba's house, we were glomped by Tenten and Kiba, who of course were the people who loved to party the most out of the Konoha gang.

"I hope you like it, twin sis," Kiba said as he ruffled my hair. "We did our best, with the fact that our star party planner wasn't here."

I rolled my eyes. "Sheesh, Kiba, you showering me with too many compliments."

He laughed. "Oh well. Maybe it wear off one day, and you'll be the one giving me all the compliments."

I gave a snobby, but joking look to him."Yeah right."

We both started laughing, and he started to ushering me in to the house, talking about some nonsense that wasn't catching my interest at all. I turned my head back to catch a sight of Gaara, and sure enough he was standing a few feet back, letting everyone pass him by. He raised his hand up, and I smiled back at him, hoping that this time he would enjoy himself.

By Boggy and Tammy Dodger was this an awesome party! Everyone was dancing before I even got there, unlike the first party we had. It had seemed that I had worked a bit of my Esther magic on them. (Wee! I'm like a cute like fairy, spreading my sparkly magic over the character of Naruto!) Ten Ten and the other girls were dancing around in a little group, while Temari and Shikamaru were dancing together in another part of Kiba's living room. Kiba grabbed my hand with a loud laugh and we started to dance as the next song came on.

After a few seconds of dancing with Kiba, Ten Ten grabbed me with a loud happy scream and I started to dance around the room with the hyper little panda girl. (Is it me, or do a lot of people in Nauro resemble animals? -ponders, ponders-) We started to laugh that I could barely breath, and we just jumped around, my boobs jiggling up and down to the beat of the music, and there was nothing I could do about it. Soon enough, I had danced back with all of the girls, and soon with everyone else who was willing to dance.

The party soon died down as most of the people plopped onto the couches spread along the edges of the living room like a bunch of fishes flopping up and down out of water. (Inchworm, inchworm!) I started to get tired too, and took a seat between Kiba and the couch. Everyone started to get quiet, but I knew that no one would let an awkward silence fill the room. With me around, I don't think that there could ever be an awkward silence. Just an awkward moment with me and my boob disorder.

"So.. what's next?" Ino asked, running a hand through her long blonde hair.

Kiba turned to me and gave me a familiar smile. I already knew what was on his mind, and I had to smile back. He got up and ran into the kitchen, coming back with an empty bottle high above his head.

"How about a game of Truth or Dare?" He asked, turning to the rest of us.

Everyone started to smile wider and finally we all responded with a loud "Yes!"

AN: I'm back, I'm back! - skips around the room like a intoxicated bunny- Oh Pancakes and Tammy Dodger am I happy! With all this Twilight mania and other anime addictions, I have been abusing ff.. -tear, tear- I plan to be finishing this story, so all you faithful reviewers come back!!


	8. A Mixed Night Pt2

**Chapter 8: A Mixed Night Part 2**

The group of us all spread out in a large circle across the floor of Kiba's living room, and you could tell that all of us were really excited. Even though we technically are adults, we still love doing all the things that we used to do as teens. (Seriously, I think we never grow up..)

Kiba sat at the head of the circle (even though there really isn't a head of a circle, but oh well, use your imagination) and everyone watched him with such intensity I don't think that they would really notice if Konoha was under attack. (Well, maybe they would..)

"Is everyone here who wants to play?" Kiba asked, looking around the circle.

I looked around too, and noticed that there was somebody missing. It was my Mr. Antisocial, like usually. (He played last time we had a party, didn't he? Or did I beg him to play?) I got up from my spot in the circle and turned to Kiba with a smile.

"Hold on for a second, okay?" I asked sweetly.

"Sure." he said after a moment, looking at the others, who were all ready to play already. "Just hurry, okay?"

"Yep!" I called as I walked out of his living room.

I walked out of the house, having a hunch that he would be outside in the wonderful night air. Sure enough, I found him leaning against the wall, looking up the moon that shone brightly overhead. I walked closer to him and tapped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his la-la land moment.

"What?" He asked, glaring at me with a hint of irritability.

"Well," I said, scratching my head, "we were just about to play Truth or Dare and I wanted you to join in. How about it?"

"No thanks." He said, looking back up into the night sky.

"Come on!" I cried, throwing my hands up in the air. "You did it last time we had the party! Why not do it one more time?"

"We're not kids anymore, Esther. You know that plainly." He said, pointing at me. "I came to make you happy, but if you all want to act as kids, be my guest. I like it out here perfectly fine and I want you to enjoy yourself."

"I won't enjoy myself if you're not with me. I've been gone for four long years and it seems like you're not happy that I'm back." I said sadly, glancing down at the pavement below us.

"Look," He said, putting his hand in my shoulder, "I've been all alone for so long, then you showed up and I thought I wasn't. Then you left for four long years and you think that I would stay the new me? No. I went back to my old self, and everything went back to normal too. You can't just expect me to change back into what I was the moment you walked back into this world."

I guess that he was right. He waited, but he had to go back to the way things were without me. I guess little old me was expecting too much of him in this short little time. By Boggy, I'm so stupid!

"Sorry." I said, pushing the hair out of my face so that I could give him a smile. "I'm going in to play the game. Wish me luck, okay?"

He nodded. "Sure."

"Okie dokie, pancakes!" I cried happily, turning back into the house, where I could hear everybody talking loudly.

"Finally!" Everybody cried when I walked back into the living room.

"Sorry everybody! Let's get started with the game!" I apologized, sitting back down in my spot in the circle.

"Okay!" Kiba said, putting the bottle down on the floor in the center of the circle. "I'll go first, then!"

He spun the bottle around and it landed on Hinata. Everyone called out her name, and a large blush formed on her face, probably from all the attention that she was getting. Kiba smiled widely and pointed at the blushing purple haired girl.

"Truth or dare, Hinata-chan?" He asked, giving a little laugh.

It was all silent for a moment, even though we all thought we knew her answer. Of course this shy girly was going to pick truth. It was in her nature of cour-

"Dare." She replied quietly, making everyone hang their mouths open in disbelief, like a bunch of guys seeing a gorgey girl passing by them on the street side.

"Dare? Are you serious Hinata?" Kiba asked out loud, out of disbelief, but there was a small smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

"Y-yeah." She said, nodding.

"Okay then, we all heard her loud and clear." He said, giving a small laugh. "Hmm, this is good! Hinata, I dare you to...hm..." Soon, he broke out into a wide grin. "I dare you to do a dance!"

"A dance?!" She squeaked, her face turning a beet red color.

"Yep." He said, nodding. "You know, a nice little dance that you always wanted to do, something like a dance Ino or Sakura would do."

"Hey!" Ino and Sakura said, throwing dog boy a look.

"What? I was just saying.." He said, scratching his head.

" I'll just do truth.." She squeaked, retreating into her invisible turtle shell.

"Gosh, she's such a wimp!" Ino said aloud, bringing the girl on the verge of tears.

I couldn't take it anymore. "Shut up, Ino!" I screeched, turning towards her. By Boggy, she finally shut up! Oh pancakes and Tammy Dodger did that feel good! I just sent the blonde a cheery smile and turned back to Hinata. "Look, Hinata, don't worry. Just go and have fun! I know you can do it!"

She looked at me for a second, her little tears pooling up in the corners of her eyes, but then she gave a small smile. "Thanks, Esther-chan. I guess I'll do the dare, Kiba."

Kiba gave a smile. "Awesome! Cue the music, Tenten!"

"Okay!" Tenten called, getting up from her side of the circle.

Hinata got up from her spot as well, standing in the middle of the circle with her head down, probably finding that beet red face from everybody. Soon, a loud, upbeat song filled the room, and everyone's eyes looked up, most with interest, wondering what the shy girly's dance would be like.

Soon, Hinata looked up and she gave a small smile and started to dance. It stared out a little awkward, but the little turtle girly pulled through with it! It was really cool and everyone was looking on, watching Hinata show a little bit of her secret side. I wooted and hooted like a owl and soon some other joined in with me. Tenten finally got up and turned off the song, and everyone was cheering really loudly for her.

"That was awesome, Hinata!" Kiba said, applauding her."Guess there's more to that shy Hinata, huh?"

She blushed and gave a small smile. "Whatever you say, Kiba-kun."

She picked up the bottle from the ground beside her and sat down next to me, giving me a wide smile before she put the bottle down and spun it around. Everyone held their breaths and the bottle slowly stopped and landed on Chojii.

"Truth or dare?" Hinata asked, pointing at the chubby guy. (Chubble Bubble!)

Chojii gave a small smile. "I think I'll slide with a truth."

"Okay." Hinata said, rubbing her head for a second, trying to think of a good question for Chubble Bubble. Finally she gave a small smile and turned back to him. "Is it true that you want to get married in the future?"

He looked down for a second, the back at Hinata. "Yeah, I guess. It depends if any girl would ever want to marry a pig like me."

As soon as he finished talking, something flew across the room and hit hit smack in the face. (Gooaaal!) He rubbed his head after a moment, and shot a look across the room to no other than the blonde demon herself. Ino just sat there throwing him a look and she finally spoke after a moment.

"Seriously, don't talk down about yourself. I've been on your team for like ever, and you need to have more confidence. If your lazy butt of a best friend can get a girl, you can too!" She said, pointing over to where Shikamaru and Temari.

"Hey!" Shikamaru and Temari said, giving her a look.

"What?" She replied shrugging. "I was just making a point."

"Okay." I said, turning to the blonde. "Can we get on with the game already?"

"Why are you asking me?" She snapped back, turning her gaze towards me.

"Okay, okay." Chojii said, picking up the bottle. "No fighting, okay?"

I shrugged and turned away, watching the bottle spin. If Ino was on the face of this world, I don't think there would ever be a day when I would ever not have a fight with her. It's like dog versus cat, good versus evil.. Blonde versus Brunette. And you know the brunette's always going to win! (No offense to any blondes.)

The bottle continued to spin, and everyone was watching to see who its next victim would be. It finally slowed down and at last it found its next victim. It was none other than Rock Lee, the bushy eyed caterpillar of Konoha.(See, I was right! Everyone does resemble an animal!!)

"It is I!" Lee cried aloud, throwing a fist into the air.

"Okay, okay." Chojii said, a little smile playing his face. "Truth or dare?"

"That is an easy answer." He replied, giving a wide smile. "I pick dare!"

"Alright." Chojii said. "I dare you to... wear Neji's clothes for the rest of the party."

"Hell no." Neji replied coldly, turning to Chojii. "He is not touching my clothes."

"Too bad." Chojii said, shrugging. "It's his dare and if he says yes, you'll have to go along with it."

"Come on, Neji!" Lee replied happily. "Are we not a team? It is only a dare!"

"I've had enough of you just being on my team." Neji replied, staring at him.

"So are you going to do it or not?" Ino asked impatiently.

"We shall do it!" Lee replied, getting up. "Come, Neji!"

Neji looked at him irritability and got up. "Fine. But I'm burning my clothes as soon as you're done with them."

The two of them left the room, and we all chatted quietly amongst ourselves. This was going to be good. I always wanted to see Neji in green spandex! I looked over at Tenten, who had a small blush glowing on her face. I did not want to know what panda girl was thinking about...

Soon, the two guys returned and it was so funny! Neji was a little shorter than Lee, so his clothes rose up a little bit on Lee, making him look hilarious. But Neji.. He was the cream of the crop. The green spandex squished against his body, looking strange with his gray eyes and clear complexion.

Tenten looked up at him and he looked away, a blush playing on his face now. Some of the guys cheered, but I couldn't stop laughing! It was too funny!

The game went on after that, a lot people getting stupid little dares to do around the room. Some were pretty funny, other just so stupid that they were funny in their own little way. Some of the guys chickened out and picked truth, but it was fun over all. As the party was winding down, the bottle finally landed on me.

"Finally, we get to you, Esther." Kankuro said, smiling at me. "Truth or dare?"

"Hm.. I dunno." I joked. "I think I'll do a dare."

"Fine, fine." He said, scratching his head. "I dare you to end this party by singing us a song. I always wanted to hear you sing."

Cat man wants to hear me sing? Oh merde. Well, i guess I'll have to please cat man just this once.

"Okie pokie." I replied, getting up from my part of the circle. I stood in the middle of the circle, looking around at everybody. "I picked a slow little song just for all of you. Here I go."

" I_ know there's someone  
somewhere someone who's  
sure to find me soon._

After the rain goes  
there are rainbows!  
I'll find my rainbow soon.

Soon it won't be just pretend.  
Soon a happy ending!  
Love...Can you hear me?  
If you're near me?  
Sing you're song,  
sure and strong and  
Soon." 

I finished my song, looking over at everyone around me. Some were smiling widely, including cat man, while others just looked on, a blank look on their faces. I turned back around and Kankuro started to clap, along with Kiba.

"That was great!" Kankuro said, giving me a smile.

"Yep!" Kiba said, slapping my shoulder. "Who knew my twin sis could sing so beautifully?"

I blushed and scratched my head. "Flattery, flattery.."

"Well," Kiba said, getting up. "I guess the party's over. Thanks for coming!"

Everyone got up from their spot in the circle and gave Kiba a pat on the back. It really was a great party! I went over to him and gave him a big hug, telling him that I couldn't have thrown a better party. He just laughed it up and ruffled my hair, as if he really was my brother.

I walked out the door, telling the rest of the people goodbye as I went. As I stepped outside, I saw Gaara standing there, looking towards the door way, and our eyes met seconds later. I walked over to him and gave a cheery smile.

"Have fun out here?" I asked, putting my hands behind my back as I rocked on my heels like a little girl.

"Yes." He replied, his eyes drilling into me as if they were searching for something.

"What? Is something wrong?" I asked, cocking my head at an angle.

"No." He replied. "Let's head back before it gets much later."

"Okay."

We started to walk out of Kiba's house and onto the silent and uncrowded street. It was pretty much a silent walk back to the place that we were staying at. Finally, he broke the silence.

"That was pretty song that you sang." He remarked, some what randomly.

"Really?" I asked, turning to look at him. "I'm glad. I don't know why I'm singing it. Maybe because I kept it as a hope in my heart that I would see you again, and now I'm really here with you again."

He didn't respond, and I was starting to worry. Maybe little old me was bombarding him again with my stupid girly feelings. I just got back and it seems like I forgot how it was like before Gaara and I had been together, and maybe I needed to step back and give him his space.

We stopped outside the hotel and I turned and gave a small smile. He just looked back at me, staring at me silently.

"Well, good night, Gaara. Thanks for going to the party with me. I hope it didn't bother you too much." I replied softly.

He just looked at me again, staring at me like he was looking for something behind my eyes. What was up with him? Or was there something up with me? I was about to ask him, when he suddenly pulled me into a tight hug.

I blinked for a second, making sure that I didn't just waltz into la-la land. I just sat there, my head leaning against him so I could hear his heart beating. It was beating at a nice little rhythm, like a wordless song. I closed my eyes for a second, but then he gently pushed me away.

"Gaara?" I asked, looking back up at him.

"Sleep well." He said quietly, walking into the hotel without another word or backward glance.

I stood in the cold night air for a moment, watching him disappear into the darkness. What did I do? Or was it me at all? What was bothering Gaara?

AN: Yay! Another chappie up! Happy belated turkey day! (I did what you said Selene. Hianta's bad girl dance!! lol. You know Neji totally would burn his clothes if Lee wore them and I just had an urge to see him in green.) ^.^ Please review!!


	9. Talk with Cat Man

**Chapter 9: A Talk with Cat Man**

The next morning was as dreary and strange as the night before. Temari and I woke up in a pretty good mood, until I remembered the way that Gaara had acted last night. Was he just having a bad night because the three of us dragged him along to the party? Or was it him having one of his emo moments? By Boggy Jones, I had to know!

We made our way out of our hotel room to meet Gaara and Kankuro outside. Neither of them were talking, but that was usually the case with the two opposite brothers. Kankuro gave us both a smile and told us good morning, and I really didn't care. Cat man could tell me something a million times and I still wouldn't care.

Gaara just stared at me for a moment, his eyes drilling into me, but then he looked away into the morning sky. I just looked at him for a moment, before cat man threw an unexpected question at me.

"So, what are your plans for the day, Esther?" He asked, looking at me.

"Huh?" I said, turning to him. "Oh, sorry. I'm not really sure. What are you guys doing?"

"I'm heading over to the other side of town for some business." Temari said, giving an apologetic smile. All three of us already knew where she was really going: Shikamaru's house or a place where he was going to meet her.

"Have fun." I replied, giving her a small hug.

"You sure you'll be okay?" She asked, patting me on the head.

"Yep!" I replied, giving a fake smile. "I'm sure that Kankuro and Gaara will entertain me some how."

"I'm not here to entertain anybody." Gaara said, turning to me. "I have my own business to take care of and I don't need a little bubble like you following me around. Let Kankuro take you on that date he always wanted to take you on and let him be the source of your entertainment."

His words pushed through to me like a bunch of tiny little needles being pushed into the skin surrounding my heart. The tears started to pool up in my eyes, and I just looked back at him, meeting his icy cold gaze. He twitched for a moment, then walked away in the opposite direction of where the three of us were standing. Nobody said anything for a few moments, then Temari let out a small sigh.

"Stupid boys." She muttered, the turned to me and cat man. "Well, I should be going now. Have fun, okay?"

"Sure." Kankuro replied, giving her a shrug.

She ran off down the street her ponytails bobbing along behind her like little bells. I would have smiled, but I was in no mood for laughing or smiling. Gaara had ruined my mood for the moment. Oh merde, was this going to bug me until I got to the bottom of his case. Something was seriously up with the little emo.

"So, what do you want to do?" Kankuro said, turning to me with a big smile. "I'll entertain you all you want."

"Thanks." I replied, giving a shake of my head. "Do you think we could just go for a little walk or something? I'm not in the mood for anything too fun today."

"Sure."

We started to walk down the street, silent as ever. I turned my head around once, to see if Gaara was walking in our direction, because he was just joking about what he had said. Of course, he wasn't, and I was getting my poor little hopes up like always. Kankuro looked down at me, seeing my frown.

"Hey, cheer up. It's a really nice day." He said, pointing to the clear, ever blue sky.

"Yeah.." I said, just staring at it.

Suddenly, a curly haired girl ran out of nowhere and nearly tackled me to the ground. I fell onto the ground, because I lost my balance, and she fell along with me, her head hitting my boobs with a loud thump. To make it all weirder, she just started laughing and snuggled into me.

"Hey! What're you doing? You should watch where you're going!" Kankuro said, pulling the girl off of me. Once she finally got off, I realized who it was.

"Erin?!" I screeched, looking at the girl more closely.

She smiled, making the dimples show in her face. I screamed again, and pulled her into a hug, squishing her against my boobs again. She started giggling, and she poked me in the side, making me squeal.

"What are you doing here?!" I said letting go of her.

"Deer!" She cried happily, pointing down the street, the direction that Temari and Gaara had gone down.

"Deer?" I asked out loud, thinking about what she was trying to say. Oh for the love of Boggy Jones and Tammy Dodger.. I figured it out. She was on a man hunt for her deer man, Shikamaru.

She laughed again, getting up onto her feet. She brushed herself off and turned to Kankuro. They both stared at each other for a moment, then Erin suddenly moved her hand up to his hat and started patting him on the head, like a little animal. Oh merde..

"Good kitty man." She replied, sounding like a five year old, then turned back to me. "Bye!"

She ran off down the street, without a backwards glance. I just sat on the street for a second, trying to make sense of it all. What in the world was she doing here? How did she get here? Was there another way to get here other than my uncle's paintings? Oh well, it was too late to find out now. She was already gone and her man hunt might take a while. Plus, I did not want to be there when she confronts Temari. Oh merde.. I sensed a cat fight about to happen there..

"Who was that girl?" Cat man asked, looking down at me.

"That was Erin.. She's also from where I came from. We're really good friends back there." I said, shaking my head.

He just looked down at me, with a confused look in his eyes. He was probably thinking the same things that I was. Finally, he held out his hand. "Let me help you up."

We got up, and he finally just sighed and slumped his shoulders. I stared at him for a second, then he finally spoke up.

"I give up." He said with a distressed look on his painted cat face. "I tried cheering you up but it seems that nothing I do will cheer you up, huh?"

I was about to say no, when I realized something with my little pea sized brain. Cat man was Gaara's brother. (No duh..) Maybe he knows the reason that Gaara is acting so strange.

"Actually, I think that there is something that might cheer me up. Do you mind taking a walk through a forest path?" I asked plainly, staring at him.

He looked up for a second, then back at me with a small smile playing his face. "Sure. Let's go."

We headed off to the far side of Konoha where the forest led to the outskirts of the territory of the Leaf. We walked for a little while until we got to a small clearing that looked pretty deserted. I sat down against one of the trees that formed a barrier around the clearing. Cat man decided not to sat down, so he just leaned against a tree right beside mine.

"So what did you what to talk to me about? I'm sure it's really important since it has you so messed up." He said, rolling his eyes.

I stared at my feet for a moment, trying not to cry. Finally I just sighed and let it out. "Do you what's up with Gaara? He's been ignoring me since we got here, and I have no idea what I did wrong. I hate that."

The forest was all too silent for a minute, then cat man finally spoke up. "Truthfully, I have no clue what's up with Gaara, but that's usual, right? I know something is up though. I woke up last night to hear Gaara whimpering. I was to get up and ask him what was wrong, because truthfully, I never hear him whimper. For Pete's sake he's an adult pretty much, and the future Kazekage at that." He smiled for a moment, then continued. "Anyway, I just sat there in bed for a second and I heard him say 'Esther..Stop it.' Then I heard him take in a big gulp of air like he was going to cry, but then he just went back to sleep."

I was right. Something must be up with Gaara. There was no way that what cat man had just told me and the way Gaara was treating me were just coincidences.

" 'Esther, stop it?'" I thought aloud, trying to wrap my brain around it like it was some kind of code. Me, being a stupid as I am, couldn't get it. Luckily, I wasn't alone.

"Truthfully, I don't get it either. Gaara is still a barrel full of mysteries to me, and I've known him my entire life." Kankuro said, scratching his head.

We just stayed in an awkward silence for a moment, cat man spoke up again. "Hey Esther, now I have a question for you."

"Shoot." I said, waving my hand nonchalantly. He could bring on all the questions he wanted. I could care less.

"Is it true.. that you like me the same way that I like you? You know.." Her said, a blush showing even under his face paint. "Like love."

"Love?" I choked. Oh merde to the highest exponent.. I was in no mood in turning cat man down today. Was it just my unlucky day or what? -smacks head against invisible wall of air- "Kankuro.. I.. I don't."

"What?" He whispered, awestruck as if he had just saw a squirrel get hit by a bolt of lightning. "Come on, then who do you love? Gaara?" He gave a small laugh, but he had no idea what realm he had just entered into.

"Actually, yes." I muttered some what defensively, and now I felt like I had just stepped on his tail. He just stared at me with his eyes all wide and his mouth twitching.

"No way.." He muttered, looking up at the sky. "No flippin way!! How could a girl like you fall for such a isolated little twerp like my brother?! I never thought that you could be so brainless! Seriously, Gaara? He doesn't even return your feelings for you, does he?"

"He did." I said, and finally I crumpled down into a ball of stupid girl fluff and started to cry like a little baby. I covered my face and just kept crying, not caring that cat man was standing less than a foot away from me. I heard him sigh and finally he stepped over and gave me a big hug. Cat man was such a sap when it came to emotions.

`Finally, the sob fest for me was over, and cat man let go of me and wiped away the hair that stuck to the tears on my cheek. He gave a small frown, then he got up from the ground beside me.

"Well, this sure has been a really interesting date.. if you could call this a date." He mumbled, scratching his head. "I'm going to head over to Kiba's now, since I guess that I'm the last person that you want to see right now. Want me to drop you off at Tenten's or something?"

"No." I replied sadly. "Go on by yourself. I think I'm going to stay here for a little longer."

AN: Yay, but grr at the same time. Haha to you Selene98. You got your dream come true, even if you were a little OOC. Happy early Christmas to you all since I don't think that I will be updating again until after the holidays. Please review!!


	10. Cold Dreams Pt1

**Chapter 10: Cold Dreams, Not Hearts Part 1**

Luckily, the rest of our stay at Konoha was short lived. I spent the rest of my days following the trail of the sun or just hanging around the forest near the edge of the city, like a silly little shadow. Gaara was still ignoring, and now that Cat Man had realized that I was not in love with him, he was braving his best to still talk to me, but I could tell he was hurt. Rejection is hard for everybody.

Of course, Gaara was still not talking to me either. Every day, it seemed, he just stalked off before any of us got up and didn't return until late into the night when everybody was getting ready to call it a day. I tried my best to say something to him, but every time I tried to say something to him, I would just swallow it and stare at my feet. (Well, more like my boobs since that's the closest and hugest thing in distance to my face.)

Temari, of course, was off with Shikamaru each day or was off in some other world when she came back, even though she tried not to show it. What the two of them could do together for almost a week and not get bored made me wonder. (Now that I think about, I don't want to know what they've been doing. Stupid friends who've tainted me!!)

Finally, the day that the four of us were supposed to leave. The weather seemed to notice all of our attitudes and gave us a big canopy of gray clouds to show us that they knew that most of us weren't all happy and sunny inside. Well, all waited at the gate as the rest of our friends together around us and tell us goodbye.

"Well, I'm going to miss you all!" Kiba said, throwing his arms around me. "Especially you, twin sis! You're not going to mysteriously disappear anytime soon, right?"

"I hope not." I said in a forced happy voice. "I missed seeing you all too much. Especially you, twin bro!"

He laughed and gave me one last hug and Akamaru jumped in and licked my face with his big slobbery dog tongue. I wiped it off and pet the dog on the head, making him bark happily. Tenten gave me a hug as well and I gave the rest of the group their farewells too. Nobody seemed to notice that I was really sad, maybe because they thought I was sad that we had to leave. Truthfully, I was sad that we were leaving, but not that sad.

"Hey Esther, you know this girl right?" Kankuro said, pulling my attention back to reality.

I looked over at him and saw Temari standing beside him with Erin attached to his neck, smiling widely. She had one of her hands trying to pull his hair band out, because she loved it when he had his hair down. (Sigh.. such a fangirl..)

"Sadly, yes." I said, smiling a little bit. "Her name is Erin. As you can plainly see, she's.. um.. attached to you."

"Attached?" Shikamaru said, with a laugh. "I think that's an understatement. She more like linked to me until death, which is probably going to be very soon if she doesn't let go of my neck. So troublesome."

Erin laughed and let go of him for a second, attaching herself to his arm while he took a deep breath. "I found him!The deer hunt is over!" She cried, pointing at me. "I'm staying with Shikamaru."

I smiled. "Have fun."

Shikamaru stared at me. "Are you serious? You making this crazy curly haired woman stay with me?"

"What?" I said, shrugging. "She'll have more fun if she stayed with you. Plus, you'll have someone to keep you company while Temari is gone."

He just looked at me and sighed. "Whatever. All women are troublesome."

Erin gave a smile and just waved at me. "Have fun in the sand. Be sure to write!"

I nodded. "You too. I wanna know how you got into this crazy world also."

Well, all the goodbyes I wanted to make were over so I walked back to where Temari was standing, staring at Shikamaru with a small smile playing on her lips. Suddenly, someone came over and smacked me on the shoulder. I turned around and there was Naruto.

"Hey! Do I not get a goodbye or what?" He asked,a big grin on his face. (Typical blonde fox boy.)

"Of course you do." I said, giving him a hug.

"Don't be sad." He whispered into my ear. "Gaara's not at fault, and neither are you. Work through it and break the darkness between you two."

"Huh?" I asked as we let go.

He just smiled and patted my head, and pushed me back towards Temari and Kankuro. He gave a small wave, then ran back into the group, going to talk to Sakura. I just watch him go, a frown creasing my face as I tried to figure out what he wasn't telling me.

"Well, we should be off." Kankuro said, addressing the group. "Have fun while we're away and don't throw too many awesome parties."

"Whatever!" Tenten said, throwing her hands onto her hips. "You're just jealous that the ninjas of Konoha really have partying in our blood. You people got sand in your brains from being stuck in the desert for too long."

"Watch it, girl." Temari said, a devilish grin on her face. "We're still better ninjas than you are, or have you forgotten?"

It was silent for a moment, then everybody started to laugh. I just looked between all of my friends and smiled. No matter where they where from, they would still be friends.

We gave one last wave to Konoha and started on our long, three day journey back to the Sand. It was a really silent walk back the first day as we walked through a small drizzle of rain. Finally, we finally had to stop being it was getting to dark and made camp in a little thicket of trees in the middle of the forest, a little way from the path that led back to the Sand.

Kankuro sent his puppets into the forest to gather some wood and the four of us sat around a small fire, drinking tea. All of us were staring into our own cups, thinking of something to say.

"Well." Kankuro said, finally breaking the silence. "It was a nice vacation."

Nice? Well, he was sure straining himself. I would have put it more as horrible, dark, or something along those lines.

"Yeah." Temari said, smiling to herself. "It was nice to break free and party."

"We shouldn't forget where we belong, though." Gaara said, being the straightforward one like always. "I have a feeling that from now on, we won't be doing much partying anymore. Kazekages don't party and trained ninjas need to stick to their duties."

"What about Esther?" Temari asked, jokingly. "She doesn't fit any of those two job occupations."

"Truthfully, I don't care what Esther does." He said, staring into the fire. "She's not important if she doesn't fit one of those two guidelines."

I felt my tea cup fall to the ground and hit my feet with a loud thud, spilling the warm tea on my feet. I saw Temari and Kankuro get up from their places around the fire and come closer to me. Before they could say anything, I got up abruptly and stared at my feet.

"Sorry guys, I guess I'm just really tired. I'm heading off to bed, so I guess I'll see you in the morning, alright?" I said, trying to sound unaffected by what Gaara had said.

The two of them just stared at me for a moment, then nodded, unsure of what to say. I turned around and walked briskly toward my tent, the tears spilling down my face. I slipped into my blankets and just cupped my face, sobbing for the second time this week.

Suddenly, I heard Kankuro's voice loudly though the air, though I couldn't tell what he was saying. Then, Temari's voice rang through as well, and I knew then that she would have the final word to whatever was happening. There was a loud thud as something hit one of the small piles of wood we had been sitting on, then all was silent again. I just sat there for a second, and finally just drifted into a joyless sleep.

_The world around lay dark as I ran along a river bed. I was looking up into the sky, looking for some sort of light, but of course there was nothing. I followed the flow of the river, and finally halted as I saw something floating in the water. _

_As I approached it, I realized what it was. There, stuck between two large rocks was the body of Kankuro, pale as moonlight on a summer night. His hat was gone and his dark blood was flowing in little streams along with the river. I fell to the ground, staring at his pain stricken face. _

_"K..Kankuro?" I managed to breath out, staring at the dead body._

_Suddenly, I heard someone running inside the forest beside me, but they were too far away for me to see who they were. Finally, I heard the person call out, and I realized that the person was Temari._

_"Gaara?! Kankuro?!" She called, her voice ringing loud and clear as if she was right next to me._

_I tried calling out to her, to let her know that I had found Kankuro. Of course, when IO needed my voice the most, it wouldn't come out. Why couldn't I tell her?! She needed my help!_

_I sat there, dark tears falling down my face. As I sat crying, Somebody came and stood in front of me. I looked up through my tears to see that it was Gaara, his eyes so dark and so cold it felt like they were the ones controlling this moonless night. He pointed at me and locked his gaze with mine._

_"Worthless girl." He said, coming closer, picking me up by the hairs on my head. "If I kill you now, no one will care. It will be an end to all of my sorrows, all of my hatred. You and Kankuro can be together forever, just like he wanted."_

_I tried to scream, and pull away, but of course he was too strong. He looked into my eyes one last time, and threw me into the river. As I fell, I notice a change in his eyes, and he reached back out to grab me, but he was too late. My head hit the back of the large rock closest to the river bed and I melted into the dark, moonless night._

I woke up with a start in my dark tent. I threw off my blankets in a hurry, and ran out of my tent. The night was as dark as the night in my dream, and I started to panic. What if the dream was warning me about something?

The ground outside was really damp and muddy, meaning it must have rained while we were all sleeping. It really didn't matter though, because I just had to get away, anywhere. I just broke out into a dash and ran in a straight path, dodging a tree here and there. I don't know how long I had been running, but it felt good. It wiped away all of my fears, and I just had to keep feeling of the wind against my skin. Suddenly, a stray tree root caught my left ankle and sent me tumbling over myself in a split second.

"Owch." I cringed, looking at my bloody leg. "Such a klutz."

I staggered to get up, and it hurt a lot, but I knew that it wasn't broken, thankfully. With a two day journey left to the sand, the last thing that I needed was a broken ankle. With a heavy sigh, I went back over the root and followed my path back tour small camp. A couple times, I thought that I was lost, and had thought about screaming, but in the end decided that it would be better to keep going until I decided that I was truly lost.

Soon enough, I saw a small fire through a clearing of trees that I recognized. I walked closer and saw that Gaara was sitting alone, staring intently at the fire, his hands crossed tightly, as if he was deep in thought. Finally, he got up and faced my direction, and noticed that I was there. We both didn't say anything for a moment, the he finally spoke up.

"Where the heck have you been?" He said coldly, crossing his arms.

"I-I just went for a walk." I said, trying not to cry.

"A walk? Before daybreak? Give me a break, Esther. " Gaara said, shaking his head. "You're such an idiot."

"Well, if that's all you have to say to me, I'm going back to sleep." I said, cringing as I took a couple of steps back towards my tent.

"Not so fast." He said. "Your leg is bleeding."

"Yeah, I know, stupid. I'm not blind." I said coldly, still walking at my slow pace. "By Boggy, I thought you knew that I had at least the sense to know that I'm hurt."

He didn't say anything for a moment, the he just grabbed me deftly and pulled me to a pile of logs beside the fire. It felt good to have that heat after running in a cold temperature through a forest. He just squatted down next to me and inspected my leg.

"What the heck did you do to yourself?" He asked amazed, staring at the blood.

"Tripped." I said, crossing my arms. "Unimportant people do that, you know."

"Stop being such a.. a girl." He said, his choice of vocabulary falling short. "Just shut up while I bandage you up."

I just sat there, while he got up and sauntered back to his tent. He came back carrying a roll of gauze and a container of water. He got down on his knees and started cleaning up my leg, while I just sat and stared at his bright red hair. Why was he being so cold to me all of a sudden? What did I do to deserve this?

I didn't want this. I wanted us to be on the terms we were before. Friends, even lovers. Even if he didn't show it, I knew that he still loved me during those times. Now, it made me doubt. If he was treating me like this, was there even a little part of me that still pierced his heart?

I started to hiccup as a fresh batch of tears (Second time this day. Biggest record of crying here in the world of Naruto) fell down my face. I just wiped them away with the back of my hands as they fell onto my cheeks in warm little streams. He looked up at me and then back to his work, as if he didn't care that I was crying.

"Why are you crying? Does it really hurt that bad?" He asked, tying up the last piece of gauze that was wrapped around my ankle.

"No." I managed to get out between hiccups.

He didn't say anything again, as he got up. He just turned around and walked back to his tent with the things he had brought out. He returned a split second later, and squatted down next to me again, inspecting my ankle.

"Looks like you didn't hurt it too bad. That's good news since we still have two days left until the Sand, and we don't need anything slowing us down."

I just nodded, and wiped my face again. He just came up to my eye level and just stared at me. Then, he got up and sat next to me, his attention back onto the fire. He finally just scooted over slightly, and draped one of his arms around me. I started crying harder, and threw myself onto him, crying into his tunic. He just shook for a second, then just sat there perfectly still.

After a few minutes, I finally got a headache and stopped crying because I felt like my eyes were going to pop out of my head and explode. I finally just leaned my head against him and looked up at the fire and its warm orange glow. I just watched the slow embers go from darkness to a warm red glow against the sky, rebelling against the shade of black all around them.

"Go back to bed." He said, looking into the fire as well.

"What about you? You should be sleeping, too."

He gave a sigh. "I don't sleep much, or have you not figured that out by now?"

"I guess not." I murmured, rubbing my face. "I want to stay by the fire for a while, if that's alright with you. I'm not that sleepy, yet."

He didn't respond, but I was kind of glad. I just wanted to sit here in his arms, watching the embers glow all around us, warming my skin with its warmth and keeping me awake with its light. I started to hum silently, staring into the trees, and after a long while, I lost all of my strength to stay awake, so I just closed my eyes and listened to the wood pop quietly as the flames consumed them at slow but greedy pace.

**AN**: Yay!! Part of the super long chappie is up! I was gonna post it all up at once, but it's over 14 pages.... No funny-funny stuff for a little while, but it'll be back soon, I hope! Please Review!


	11. Cold Dreams Pt2

**Chapter 10 Part 2**

I woke up the next morning back in my tent. I started at the walls, trying to remember what all had happened last night. I remembered quickly my nightmare, my stupid run though the forest, and falling asleep next to Gaara at the fireside. I gave a small, sad smile and got up, feeling the pain flow though my ankle in throbbing waves. I winced for minute, then got up and made my way out of my tent.

Like usual, the three siblings were already awake and sitting by the fire, drinking their small cup of tea while they all sat silently. I made my way over to them, giving a small, bleak smile as Kankuro handed me a cup of tea.

"Well, it may take us a little longer to get back since it rained pretty badly during part of the night. We should get going before any cranky people make any more 'comments'." He said, staring directly at Gaara.

Gaara just threw him an icy look and decided not to say anything, which was of course the wisest decision he could make. Temari just shook her head and muttered something about boys being worse than girls on their 'happy' week, but then she was gone to tidy up her tent. I put my cup down on the ground beside me and went to tidy up my stuff as well. After the tents were packed up, we set off down the path back to the Sand.

I walked beside Temari, who watched her two brothers with her judgmental eyes. Kankuro walked in the center of our group, eying Gaara's back with unusual paranoia. Gaara, of course, was oblivious to all of us as he walked at his brisk pace. I had a feeling that this all had to do with what had happened last night at the fireside and our little talk in Konoha.

"Hey, Temari?" I asked quietly.

"What?" She asked somewhat irritably as she turned back around to face me.

"I was just wondering what happened last night after I went to bed. Everyone seems pretty.. unhappy."

"Oh, that." She said, rolling her eyes. "Well, you left and then Kankuro just exploded on Gaara. He just went up and picked him up by the collar and stared at him, and he was really pissed off. Gaara just looked at him, and Kankuro said, 'If you ever make her cry again, I'll break your neck, no matter what the heck Esther is going to do to me when she finds out. How dare you insult her when she did nothing wrong.'"

"Really?" I squeaked, looking between the two brothers. Uh oh. Was I causing some sparks between the two of them or what? Oh merde..

She nodded her head. "I finally had to break the two of them apart, and Kankuro just stared back at Gaara and was like ' You know things are different now that she's back. Some pretending that you can push her away like a piece of clothing and hide away in that shell you've been living in all your life and get up and act like a man before she's gone for good.' Gaara of course, just sat there, and finally told me to leave because I would be cranky if I didn't get to sleep soon. Whatever you are to them is a puzzle to me, and it's bothering me."

"Yeah.. Sorry." I said, casting my eyes downward.

"It's not your fault. How could you know that the two of them were having a problem? They're guys and they'll get over it soon enough." She said, patting me on the shoulder.

Ha. I did know the reason why they were fighting, and the reason was me. If they got over it soon enough, it would be a miracle. Since it was so deep, though, I had a feeling that the sparks between them wouldn't die out that quickly.

We continued to walk, and the weather continued to get hotter as we approached the desert land. I felt the pain throb through my ankle from time to time, but I learned to ignore it, because I was in mood to be in anymore pain. As we were walking in the mid afternoon, I was sweating pretty badly, and I started to feel a little faint. I thought about stopping, but decided to keep on moving. My legs had other ideas though. I finally crumpled with a wave of pain from my leg and I fell to the ground with a small thud.

Temari turned back slightly, thinking that I had hit a small rock with my foot or something, but realized that I was sitting on the ground, breathing loudly and holding my leg. She ran back to me, and crouched down beside me, her eyes holding sparks of worry.

"Hey, you okay?" She asked, reaching to feel my forehead.

I shook my head, because I felt like I couldn't speak. My stomach started to churn and I spewed my lunch all across the path behind me. My ankle was throbbing and my throat felt parched. Temari just held my shoulders to steady me, as she called to her brothers.

"Hey guys, we need to stop! Esther's not well." She called loudly, making both guys turn their head quickly.

Kankuro rushed over to where we were sitting on the path and squatted beside Temari. He took one look at me and shook his head, muttering something under his breath as he picked me up like a bag of straw and mover me to a tree not far from the path.

"Hey, you okay?" He asked, looking me over with a frown.

"Yeah. I just got light headed and had to sit down for a second." I said, trying to get up.

"Not so fast." He said, making me relax against the tree again. "We're not in any rush. Just take a breather. Why didn't you just tell one of us that you weren't feeling well?"

"It was all of a sudden. My leg started hurting-" I stopped myself short, realizing that I had said too much.

Temari and him both looked down at my legs and Temari took off both of my boots. They finally saw that my left ankle was bandaged and they both turned their head back to Gaara, who was standing right behind Temari, his arms crossed.

"What?" He asked, staring back at his siblings.

Kankuro got up. "You. Did you do this to her?"

"Hardly." He replied, keeping his steady gaze on cat man. "She's a natural klutz, so she-"

"Don't give me this crap!" Kankuro said, clutching his tunic. "You did do this! Why of all the low down things you could do to her while we were asleep, I'd-"

"Stop!" I cried, making both of them stop in their tracks. "It really was my fault. I went to the bathroom last night and I tipped over a tree root and sprained my ankle. I was lucky that Gaara was up to help me bandage it up. Please, stop fighting."

It wasn't the entire truth, but it was enough to prove that Gaara didn't hurt me. I really didn't want anyone to know about my little nightmare and my run through the forest. I just wanted everything to be fine and happy again.

Kankuro just stared at me for a minute, then let go of Gaara. Gaara just looked at me for a second, then took a few steps back as Kankuro got closer to me. Whatever he was thinking, he had the wise idea to keep it for himself.

"I believe you, but if he really does anything to hurt you, just let me know, and I'll be there in a second to whoop his little prideful butt."

"Gaara would never do anything to hurt me. He's not the monster you think that he is." I said coldly.

Temari just stared at me, then at Kankuro, then back at Gaara. She was thinking about how all the pieces of the puzzle came together, but in the end, she just sighed and got up from her spot in the grass. If she did figure it out, hooray for her, but it still wouldn't fix anything.

"Pick her up, Kankuro. We need to be on our way so that we can set up camp at a good spot." She said as she walked off.

He just nodded and gave a sigh. "Well, come on."

After I was situated on Kankuro's back, we set off again. I felt like such a baby, having to be carried around on someone's back. I just laid my head against his back and just watched the scenery pass by at a slow pace.

"Hey, Kankuro." I said, as we passed through a small clearing.

"What? You not feeling well again?" He asked, slowing his pace down some more.

"No, it's not that. I feel fine." I said. "It's just.. thanks for sticking up for me."

"It's nothing." He said casually. "Gaara has no right to be insulting you like that while you just sit there helplessly. You didn't even do anything wrong, and he needs to learn a few manners about how to treat women."

"I don't think that's the problem." I said quietly. "I know something is wrong with him, and this is the way that he's dealing with it. I just wish.. there was a way that I could stop him before he-"

"He does something stupid?" Kankuro said, interrupting me. "Hopefully, you won't have to, because he should have enough brains to know on his own."

"Yeah." I said, trying to sound convinced. "I guess that you're right."

**AN**: By Boggy, I think this will be my longest chappie yet. There's at least two more parts, so bear with me. Please review and a cookie would be nice(Ahem, Selene98). thanks!


	12. Cold Dreams Pt3

**Chapter 10 Part 3**

We continued our walk all the way down to a small hillside on the boundary of the grass of the forest and the sand of the desert. They stopped and made camp there for the night. Kankuro sat me down on a soft patch of grass and moved away to go and help Temari set up the tents and made a little fire in a bare area.

I sat and watched the two of them messing around as they did their jobs, as if they were younger. It was nice to see that even if the three of them were fighting the night before, they could kind of find a truce and have fun again. It made me realize how alone I really was, too. I was something that could be taken in and thrown out of this group of siblings as if I were a piece of trash. I wasn't important to any of them, so what was the point of staying? Why did I come here in the first place?

"Thinking?" Gaara said, shaking me out of my thoughts. I looked up, and he was there, standing beside me, watching his siblings as well.

"Does that surprise you or something?" I asked, my mouth a grim line.

"Do you always have to act like a pissed off cat when I'm around?" He shot coldly, sitting down in the grass beside me.

We were both silent for a second, looking at different things off in the horizon. Finally he just sighed and ran one of his hands through his bright red hair and placed his hands behind him as he stretched out.

"I'm sure you enjoyed your little piggyback ride on Kankuro, huh?" He said, turning to me.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" I exploded, turning to him.

"I was just saying. You never complained once."

"Why should I complain when he was helping me out? That would be rude."

"I don't think he would care. He treats you like a princess; your wish is his command." He scoffed, rolling his eyes.

I just clenched my fist, grabbing a huge handful of fresh grass. I just screamed and threw them at him, covering him in a blanket of bright green grass blades. He just looked at me, and threw some back at me, covering me in grass as well. We sat there, throwing grass at each other.

Suddenly, we heard footsteps coming towards us, and we stopped to see Kankuro and Temari looking at us. They looked at each other, as well, and then started to laugh.

"You two look.. ridiculous!" Temari said in between laughs, falling to the ground.

"She started it." Gaara said, pointing at me.

"Did not." I replied, crossing my arms. "You started it, stupid."

Kankuro just laughed and sat next to his sister. "You guys sound like a bunch of kids. Weren't you the one who said adults should act like adults, Gaara?"

Gaara just stared at him and shrugged. Everyone just laughed again and we were all sitting on the grass, relaxing for the first time in what seemed what like forever. Everything seemed peaceful for a moment, but time flies too quickly.

"You two need to go and clean yourselves off." Temari said, waving her hand at Gaara and me.

"Gaara, you remember the steam a little way to the east of here, right?"

"Yeah." He said, looking over at Temari. "You don't expect me to take her along with me, do you?"

"Well, I guess." Temari said, in a tone of irritation. "You know I would take her, but I'm not strong enough to carry her. She weighs more than double my fan, and that's just saying something. Plus, you're not the type of guy to do something dirty to a girl hanging out with your family. Kankuro, he's another story."

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" Kankuro said, turning a shade of red.

"Oh, don't play dumb, little brother." She said, taking off his cat hat, exposing his dark brown hair. "You're a huge perv and you're just dying to get your hands on our poor little Esther here, aren't you?"

She got up and started to say stupid little things that could be taken so many different ways it wasn't even funny. With each comment, Kankuro turned a shade of red darker, until he finally couldn't take it any more.

"That's it, you little idiot!" He said, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to kill you! You're the damn perv anyway!"

Temari stuck her tongue out and started to dash down the hill, laughing as he held his hat high above her head. Cat man growled and ran after her, leaving Gaara and me watching them disappear down the hill side.

"Gaara!!" Temari yelled, her voice so loud that we heard her perfectly from our spot on top of the hill. "Bring Esther down to camp so she can get her clean clothes and junk!"

Gaara, of course, wasn't going to yell a response back. He just got up, muttering something under his breath and turned to me. I just blinked at him for a moment, looking at the grass the still clung to his hair and clothes.

"Come on." He said looking at me. "Let's go before she starts really yelling."

"Fine." I muttered. "Aren't you going to turn around?"

"No. I do things differently from my brother." He said coolly.

Suddenly, he swooped down and picked me up. I scream a little bit, because it was all a little unexpected. I latched my arms around his neck as he ran down the hill, down to where a small fire was burning ad four familiar tents were lying about. As we got down to the camp, we saw Temari and Kankuro watching us as they say around the fire.

"You two look pretty cute together." Temari said jokingly, her teasing far from over. "Watch you two be a couple later on. Wouldn't that be so nice, huh Kankuro?"

"Yeah." Kankuro said, throwing another log into the fire. He had a frown on his face, and I knew he knew that Temari was kidding. I guess my rejection was still a big let down for him.

"Aw come on, Kankuro! You know I was just kidding!" Temari said, throwing her brother a look. "It's not like Esther likes Gaara. No offense Gaara, but I don't think any girl in their right mind would seriously think of loving you."

"None taken." Gaara said, his voice the same blank tone it always was. He was good with keeping his emotions in key. But I was doubting if he actually cared for what Temari had just said, or if he really didn't care for love anymore.

"Here, put Esther down next to me while you run and get your stuff. I'll keep her company." Temari said, patting the spot beside her.

Gaara just went and put me down next to Temari and disappeared into his tent without another word. Kankuro just looked at me for a second, then concentrated on building the fire larger again.

"What a mixed up day this has been, huh Esther?" Temari asked, smiling a little bit.

"Yeah." I said, stretching my right leg out a little bit. "You cracking jokes for the first time in a while. It was nice; reminds me of the way things were the first time I was here."

"Yep." She said, nodding. "I just love teasing you and my brothers. It's like you're actually my sister, and you know I wouldn't mind that."

"Me either." I said, giving her a small hug.

Gaara came back out, a pack slung around his shoulders. He was looking at the three of us sitting around the fire, smiling and laughing. He just stared at me for a second, and some how I couldn't smile anymore.

"Oh, you're done." Temari said, turning to Gaara. "Well be back soon, because I'm about to cook dinner. Take Esther to the spot where the large rock is and let her clean up there. Be careful, okay?"

"Fine." Gaara said, coming over to me.

"Oh, here Esther." Temari said, hanging me a little sack that was tied up hastily. "I got you some clean clothes and stuff."

"Thanks Temari." I said, giving her a small smile. I turned to Kankuro, who was looking between me and Gaara. "Bye, Kankuro. See you in a little bit."

"Yeah." He said, throwing his hand back towards me. "Be careful. Water's pretty cold."

Gaara came and picked me up without another word and carried me and my sack off, to the left of where the camp was. He was walking at a leisurely pace, so I had time to admire the stars that shone brightly up in the sky above the grassy countryside.

"It's so peaceful out here." I thought out loud, leaning my head against him.

"It's peaceful everywhere, if you know where to look." He replied, looking up into the sky as well.

"I guess so. I just never had time to look, huh?" I said quietly.

"Are you mad at me?" He asked some what awkwardly.

"Huh?" I asked, caught off guard. "I should be asking you that question. You're the one hurling insults and comments at me, not the other way around. Why?"

"Because-" He started, the he shook his head, his eyes turning icy cold. "Never mind. It's not important."

There was an awkward silence following that, and I hated it. There was a barrier between us; there was things that he was holding back that I couldn't figure out. Whatever it was, it was messing him up as much as it was frustrating me.

"Why are you walking so slow?" I asked, trying to start up another conversation. "You don't like doing things slowly, right?"

"Everything has its own pace. Things that are important should be done quickly. Walking to the stream is not important, so it doesn't necessarily have to be done at a fast pace."

"You confuse me." I said truthfully, scrunching my face at him.

"Like you should be talking." He scoffed, peering down at me. "At least that guy Temari likes has it right. Women are as troublesome as they are confusing."

"Well, guys aren't that straightforward as you make them sound." I said defensively.

He just stared at me, and continued walking, and the sound of rushing water was heard faintly. I squinted, and sure enough there was a patch of stream bed a few yards away from us.

"Finally." Gaara said with a loud sigh. "I swear if I have to carrying you anymore my arms are going to fall off. You're heavy."

I let out a small huff. "Well, sorry. Not everyone is a stick like you."

He just shrugged and continued to walk, and not afterwards we got to the stream bed. We moved up the left side of the bank, and finally a huge waterfall came into view, as well as many large boulders. It was a very beautiful place, like somewhere people in our world would mark off as a trail sight or another national park.

"Pretty place." I replied, looking at the huge waterfall.

"I guess." He replied, and I had the notion that he had been to this place several times before.

We soon came to stop at a the side of a very large boulder. Gaara put me down here, and turned to face the way that we had just came.

"You're going to rinse off here." He said looking back at me. "I'll be on the other side of this boulder, a few feet away. Call me when you're done."

"Okay." I said, looking at the rushing water. "Thanks."

He just walked away without another word. I sat there for a minute, watching him walk off. I just shook my head sadly, and started to change out of my grass covered clothing. Sitting in my shift, I crept closer to the edge of the water and dipped my toes in. It was freezing! (bbbrrrrrr... cold!)

I took my toes out quickly, then stuck them back in before I could debate about going in or not. Finally I pulled my shift off and sank into the water with a small yelp.

"You alright over there?" Gaara called irritably from the other side of the rock.

"Yy-yep." I stuttered. "Just a little cold."

It was silent again, so I just sank into the water. I started to rinse out my hair, the little pieces of dirt and grass washing away from me in little streams. After many minutes, my hair was finally clean and dripping all over my back. Looking down, I saw Gaara's necklace and I sighed. There were still too many of my questions unanswered.

"Gaara?" I called, over the boulder.

"What? You done?" He called back.

"No, not yet." I said, sighing. "It's just..you.. do you not love me anymore?"

I heard nothing from across the boulder for a few moments. Maybe this was the moment I had been hoping for. Or the one I had been dreading. Finally, he spoke.

"I don't think this is the kind of place to talk about things like this." He responded.

"Well, where else can we talk? Temari and Kankuro are with us twenty four seven."

He didn't respond again, and I was pretty confuzzled for a few moments. Then, it felt like I got a brick to my head. Gaara didn't want to talk about it here, or anywhere else, even if his siblings were around. The truth was...He didn't love me anymore.

I numbly got out of the stream and started to change again, my brain a puddle of mush. As I changed into my favorite blue dress, I didn't explode or start screaming like I thought I would. All I wanted to do was get out of there and cry, safe and alone in my tent.

"I'm finished." I called out, my voice wavering.

He walked over to my side of the rock, and just stood there, looking at me. I didn't want to look up into his eyes, but I did anyway. Strangely, there wasn't a look of disgust or anger behind them. There was just his same old cold stare, but with something hiding behind his eyes, as if he didn't want me to see.

"_Oh Naruto."_ I thought. "_I seriously wish I knew what you knew. Maybe then this whole thing wouldn't be happening."_

I held onto the side of the rock and pushed myself up, trying to stand up with my hurt ankle. He stepped forward, but then he stopped as he saw the single tear run my cheek. (Dang, and I said I wouldn't cry before I got to my tent.)

"You're crying." He said, staring at me.

That just set off more tears on my end. I moved my hands up to wipe them away frantically, but it did nothing to stop them. Soon, my cheeks were starting to feel irritated, and Gaara intervened and pulled my hands away from my face.

"Take a deep breath. Calm down." He said gently, holding me by the wrists.

I just started to hiccup, but finally after a few moments the tears slowed down and just fell down in small streams down my cheeks. He just looked at me for a moment, then dropped his grip on me.

"There. Enough crying."

I just nodded, feeling ashamed that I had turned into a little baby in front of him. Tears wouldn't help, except for letting my feelings out. Suddenly, a crazy idea popped into my head, and I followed through with it.

Leaning forward, I planted my lips on Gaara's before he could figure out what I was doing. I tried to focus my feelings on it, as if by this silly little kiss something miraculous could happen. Suddenly, in my head appeared an image. Though it was blurry, I could faintly make me out amongst the darkness, my head in my hands, blood running down my hands and arms as I screamed.

Gaara pushed me away abruptly, and I was too stunned for words. I looked up into his eyes, and there was something dark and evil there, and it was pretty scary. After he gave a small growl, he spoke.

"What in the world do you think you're doing?" He said through thin lips.

"I..I.." I stammered, but nothing could come out.

It was silent between us, as we stared at each other. I was shaking soon, and I had to hold on to the rock to keep myself standing. Nothing made sense anymore. It felt like a nightmare that was just starting to unfold.

"Come on. We need to be getting back before anymore stupid things happen." He said, reaching down to pick up my stuff.

I just stood there, staring at him. He thought this all was stupid? Maybe it was to him. To me, it never was. My love is not stupid.

He came over and picked me up, and I just let him, because I was tired of fighting with him. All we ever did now was fight, or so it seemed. We never said a word that entire way back to where our camp was. Once we got back to camp, I knew I had better wipe the sad look off my face or there would be questions galore from Temari and cat man, and another chance for me to turn into a water fountain.

We got back to camp to see Temari and Kankuro sitting around the now blazing fire, a cup of tea in both of their hands. They both turned to face us; Temari with a smile, cat man just staring with a blank look on his face. Gaara sat me down beside Temari and left into his tent.

"Welcome back." Temari said warmly. "How was the steam?"

"It was so cold!" I said, trying to sound happy. "Gaara didn't think so, but he's so cold I think he could even melt ice!"

Temari let out a little laugh. "So true! Gaara is too stuck up for his own good. I worry about his future as a loner."

"He's not going to be a loner." I spat out, much to the surprise of Temari.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Temari said, scrutinizing my face.

I had better cover my mistake up. "Oh, don't think of it like that, Temari!" I laughed, smacking her lightly on the arm. "All I was saying was that if Gaara truly was a loner, he would have left you guys a long time ago to live alone. I think he's actually a big baby inside, wanting the attention of his big sister and brother."

It was silent for a moment, then Temari started laughing again. "You could be right!" She laughed, getting up. "Well, I have to go and pee, but I'm hitting my tent after that. A girl needs her beauty sleep."

"Okay." I said. "Good night, Temari!"

"Night, Esther. Night, Kankuro." She said as she walked away.

I got up from the fire, stretching my legs out. Kankuro was up in a moment, staring at me.

"Does your leg hurt?" He asked, staring at my ankle.

"Not really." I said truthfully. "Other things hurt worse than that."

"Your heart?" He asked through pursed lips.

"Hm.. maybe." I said, walking over to my tent.

"I can stand this." Kankuro said, throwing his hat to the floor. "I can't just stand around while my brother hurts you like this."

"He doesn't know anything other than how to hurt people. He's never been loved, Kankuro." I said sadly. "I can't give up, no matter how hurt I get in the process. I'm strong, maybe stronger than you think."

"You don't have to go through with this. You could be with me, and leave Gaara in the past. You'll never be loved as much as you expect if you stick with him. Is that what you want?"

"All I want is Gaara to be alright. Nothing else." I said, a tear rolling down my cheek.

"If he ever hurts you again, I'm taking you away from him." Kankuro said, his tone tight. "That's a promise. You understand."

"I understand that he'll never hurt me." I spat, opening the flap of my tent. "Good night, Kankuro."

"Night."

I crawled into the blankets laid on the floor of my tent. I pulled them over my head and let a muffled scream out into my pillow. I sat shaking for a few moments, trembling of all these flooding emotions. I was sad, and angry, and hurt. Somewhere in the back of my head, I was asking myself if this was all worth it.

"It's worth it." I whispered to myself, as if I could be reassured. "This is the path that I have chosen to walk down. Pain or no pain, screaming or silence, I have to follow it all the way down. Oh Boggy Jones, save me!"

I don't know how long I just laid there, staring at the side of my tent with a heavy head and heart. By some miracle of Tammy Dodger, I finally fell into a light, restless sort of sleep.

AN: Wow.. Six whole pages to this part! Anyway, please review, and i promise there is one last part to this chappie! Thanks to Selene98, like usual.


	13. Cold Dreams Pt4

**Chapter 10 Part 4**

When I woke up, it was still dark outside, meaning that it was probably before dawn. I threw off my blanket and stepped out of my tent. Outside, everything was deathly quiet, the dark ashes remaining on the ground from the fire from the night before. My skin turned all goosebumpy in the cold night air, and my brain was telling me to turn back and stay in my warm tent. Of course, I didn't listen and walked away from the camp, out into the open field.

I looked up into the night sky, and my breath was taken. Up above me shone millions of tiny stars, like some vast sparkly puzzle. It was so beautiful; a light among enveloping darkness. Could I be like that? I wanted to be that one star that shone in Gaara, the one that would take away his darkness, and make him learn to love and be loved?

I continued walking, my eyes tracing the sky as I walked. A slight smile pulled at my lips, and I started to hum a little tune under my breath. A slight breeze swept through the field, but I kept walking.

Finally, after a few minutes of walking, my feet went from cold to numb under the chillingly cold earth.

I sat down in the field, looking around at the vast emptiness of the nature around me. Everything was covered in an eerie blanket of darkness, like a stage sent for a nightmare. I sat, shivering, my breath coming out in little puffs now. I was used to the warm weather of the sand village, where there was never a day even close to freezing.

"Well.." I said through chattering teeth. "This is what I get for getting out of bed in the night."

I laid my head against the cold ground, getting a better view of the star filled sky. I started to hum again, closing my eyes and trying to keep warm. After a while I forgot about being cold, and I just sat there quietly, breathing in a pattern that went along with the flow of the wind. It reminded me of this time in high school when our teacher asked us to meditate while we sat outside on a warm spring day.

Soon, I was starting to lose consciousness as the numbness spread from my feet up my body. Even my boobs were starting to go numb. I just sat there with my eyes closed, my breathing going shallower as the darkness was starting to fill my head. Crap, what would happen to me if I slept out here in the cold? I might die if it was cold enough. I tried to push myself off the ground, but my arms weren't obeying my brain.

Something was heard rustling in the grass to my left. Whatever it was, it was coming at a pretty slow rate. Maybe it hadn't seen me yet. Hopefully, if it it did see me, it wouldn't be a wild animal looking for some food. If I wasn't lucky, then I would be animal kibbles for sure. The rate of whatever was in the field increased, and it was making its way toward me at a quick rate.

I was kibbles for sure now. I couldn't move, so there's no way I could escape. What will they do when they find my bloody bits scattered across the pretty green field? Would they cry? Gaara wouldn't. He'd probably say good riddance. That girl was an eyesore for all of us. Would Temari and Kankuro agree? Were they all just being nice to me because they knew Kankuro liked me? Do all people ramble before they die?

"Esther." Gaara called from beside me, putting his hand on my forehead. "Damn it. She's so cold."

I tried to speak, but I couldn't move my mouth. I felt him pick me up and hold me close to his body. He was so warm, like a blanket set before a small fire. He just held me like that for a moment, then put me down. He put his hand on my forehead again and growled.

"She needs to warm up quick. There's no way I'll let her die so stupidly. What idiot freezes to death in a field when they have a tent a few yards away? Only her." He thought aloud, his hand leaving my head.

Soon, I was up and in his arms, and I felt him running silently back to the camp. His body warmth was spreading to me and the numbness was slowly fading. I could hear him breathing, and I was imagining the little puffs of air that were coming out against the cold night air. Suddenly, he stopped and I felt him crouching down, and I was laid down on something warm. A blanket soon covered me, and I heard him leave the tent.

I heard the crackling of wood, and I knew he had started a small fire. There was the small pop a metal pan made as it was placed above a fire, and everything was silent again except for the quiet popping of the wood. A moment later, he was back in the tent, and something exceedingly warm was placed on my forehead. The warmth spread down through my chest, and I let out a little shiver.

"Esther? Can you hear me?" Gaara called from beside me.

"Cold..." I managed to get out.

"Idiot." He said coldly. "What were you doing out there?"

"Stars..singing.. animal kibble." I mumbled.

"Animal kibble?" He said, a hint of laughter behind his usually cold words. "You truly are the biggest idiot I know."

I opened my eyes and saw him there, staring at me. He had a frown clearly placed in his pale face, his eyes cold and blank like usual .I soon saw something that caught my eye; a bright red flowing down his right hand. I tried to sit up, put he pushed me back down into the blankets.

"Lay down. Where are you going to in such a hurry?"

"Bandage.. you're bleeding."

He looked down at his hand, then back at me. "It's been bleeding for a little while now. It should stop soon, so no bandages needed. I'm not a baby like you."

"Shut up." I managed, letting out a shiver.

He took the cloth off my head and placed it in the metal pan beside him, and put it back on my head. The shivers subsided and I just sat there motionless, staring blankly at him. He just looked at me, then at the floor of the tent.

"What were you singing about?"

"Stars..hope..love.." I murmured, closing my eyes.

"Pointless things like usual." He said coldly.

"They're not pointless!" I hissed in a whisper. "If you had them, you wouldn't think they were pointless."

"I don't have them, so maybe your point is right." He said. "Like thinking being animal.. kibble is a nice way to die."

"I..never said that." I said, shivering once again.

"You truly are an idiot." He said flatly, placing another blanket onto me.

"Then why did you save me?" I whispered. "You should have let the idiot die."

"I don't know." He said, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe I'll never know. I just know that if I didn't save you, Kankuro and Temari would have killed me and left me to be kibble with you."

"Yeah right." I laughed breathlessly. "They'd never lay a finger on you."

"You're wrong." He said, matter-of-factly. "Kankuro would kill me if you died. You are his sweetheart."

"Well, the same doesn't go for me." I spat, throwing him a look. "He's not my sweetheart."

"Why not?" Gaara asked, staring cooly at me. "He's everything you'd need; protective, funny, and he'll do anything for you."

"That still doesn't mean that I love him." I whispered. "My sweetheart is the one that I love. No one else."

"You're impossible, aren't you?" He spat. "Give up already."

I let out another shiver. "Never."

I saw him clench his fists slowly. He took the cloth away from my head slowly and put it back into the pot and got up slowly from his spot. He passed me by, a frown creasing his face.

"Where are you going?" I asked, staring at him.

"To pour this water out, and to sit alone for a while."

"Don't go." I whispered, staring up at him. "Stay here with me. I just want to stay with you, without arguing."

He didn't say anything as he left the tent. I heard the water splashing outside onto the ground, and I heard the pan clank lightly as it hit the ground as well. There was no movement for a second, then I heard quiet footsteps across the ground, coming back towards the tent. Gaara soon emerged inside the tent again, and he sat down in the spot he sat in before.

"Thank you." I whispered, closing my eyes.

He didn't say anything, but just laid his hand on my forehead again. After a moment, he spoke up. "Are you still cold?"

"Not as bad as for." I said, feeling the heat from his palm on my face.

His hand moved down my face, moving along the curve of my cheek bone. I moved my hands up to touch his, keeping it there against the side of my face. It felt like the first time in along time that I was with Gaara and everything felt right; no worrying or arguing. Just him and me.

"You-" Gaara started, but I cut him off.

"Shh." I said. "No talking."

He actually listened to me. We just sat there like that for a few moments, and I finally pulled my hands away because they were starting to hurt. He too pulled his hand away and started to stroke my head instead.

"Go to sleep." He said, more of a request not a command.

"Okay." I said, closing my eyes. "I love you."

"Yeah. I know." Was the last thing I heard him say as I fell back asleep.

It was a long, silent trip back to the Sand village. While I slept the night before, Gaara had some how slipped me back into my tent. I was oober thankful for him saving me from becoming frozen animal kibble. Still, I was even more confuzzled with our whole situation.

Back at the Sand village, it was dusk, a beautiful pink sunset spilling across the sand. It was one of those things that you could never get used to; something so wonderful and beautiful it could take your breath away every time. Still, it seemed like there was something lurking behind it all, but it was probably just me.

The rest of the day went by at a slow pace. Everyone needed to recharge their batteries after so much traveling. We all ate a quick little dinner and we were off to our beds. I changed into my skimpy pair of jammies since it was still so warm in the house. I said a quick good night to Temari, who was already dosing off. I was out not long after she was.

_It was dark, except for the pale light of the moon. There, a small boy with the color of a bright red autumn leaf laid, curled up in a ball. It was Gaara. My Gaara._

_The little Gaara looked up, and I could see the small teddy bear clutched in his hands. His face was covered in tears, his eyes looking at me with such a sad intensity that I thought I would cry as well._

_"Save me." He cried, reaching out a small hand to me. "I can't see your smiling face anymore. It's so dark here, inside my heart."_

_"I'm here." I replied, trying to reach my hand out towards him. It fell short._

_"It's so real. You.. you haunt me. Please! Set me right!" Gaara cried. "I need peace!"_

_"For you, I'll do anything." I said barley above a whisper, just as the small Gaara faded into the darkness, away from my embrace again._

I woke up with a sharp breath, shocked from my last dream. What in the world was that all about? By Boggy, were dreams confusing!

"Gaara.." I whispered, remembering the small child from my dream. Was he trying to tell me something? Or was my mind playing a trick on me? There was only one way to find out.

I slipped out of the room on silent feet, and luckily Temari and Kankuro were pretty heavy sleepers. I walked silently across the hallway to Gaara's room. Oh Tammy Dodger, let him be in there. I needed to put my mind at ease. I opened the door, and was welcomed by darkness. His bed was untouched and it gave me an unsettling feeling. Gaara had not touched his room.

Now I was getting worried. Where in the world could he have gone? And why? I had to find him before something terrible happened. I ran up to the main floor and looked around, thinking maybe he was sitting on the couch or at the table just thinking like he did sometimes. Of course, he wasn't there. Now, I was down to one other option before I went crazy with fear. I ran up the small flight of stairs that led to the balcony just above the main floor.

I opened the small sliding door and stepped outside into the cold night air. The goosebumps rose as I stepped outside and was greeted only by the dim moonlight from a crescent moon. I searched around to to my heart's delight I saw Gaara. He was leaning against the railing of the thick balcony, his head in his hands. A small breeze was moving the strands of his hair back and forth, like a bright autumn leaf is carried by a fall wind.

"Gaara.." I said, the tears rolling down my face. "Thank goodness you're alright."

He suddenly looked up at me, and I froze where I stood. His face was covered in tears but that was not the thing that held me rooted to the spot at which I stood. It was the look in his eyes. It was a half-crazed look, one might expect from a wild animal or a demon. There was so much anger and darkness in that one look that a normal person would have screamed and ran away.

"You.." He growled, staring at me.

I couldn't speak for a moment. Then it hit me like a block. This was what the little Gaara was telling me about. I was the only one who could stop this, but how?

"Gaara." I finally said after a moment. My feet were finally obeying me so I took a step closer. "What's wrong?"

He scoffed. "You saw it didn't you?"

"Saw what?" I asked timidly, taking another step forward. What was he talking about?

"The image you saw that day you and I were alone at the waterfall." He said, his jaw tightening.

It was the image of me sitting on the ground in darkness, the blood pooling around me as I screamed. How could I forget that?

"It was the one of me bleeding and screaming, wasn't it?" I asked, looking up at him. "I only saw a glimpse of it. It seems that there's more to it, am I right?"

"It's you, and you keep screaming my name over and over. I can feel you tremble, the pain that you feel. You haunt me every night, and there's nothing I can do to help. You're scream makes me go cold and when everything is silent it's all i hear. When I look into your face, I see the blood flowing down it. Everywhere, in everything I do, you always haunt me." He whispered, harshly, his body trembling.

I stood, shocked. I was making Gaara go insane. Me, the one who loved him, was putting him through all of this torture. I was the reason for all of our problems. No wonder he wanted to make it stop.

"Oh Gaara.." I cried, reaching to touch his arm.

Suddenly, his arm shot out and pushed me with such a powerful force it seemed inhuman like. I hit the side of the balcony with a loud thud, my head hitting the cold stone in a hard blow. I felt a bone in my left arm crack, and the pain racked itself through my body.

He stepped closer, looking like some demonic being. "You don't understand do you?" He asked in a icy tone. "This is all happening because you fell in love with me. I tried to show you that you couldn't be with me, but you were blind. That's why I kept pushing you away and why I kept trying to make you love Kankuro. You couldn't though, you insolent woman. Now I have only one solution left; one that I wished I never have to use."

"Gaara?" I squeaked, wide eyed, as he stepped closer.

He just picked me up roughly by the front of my night dress and rammed me repeatedly against the back wall of the balcony. I heard my flesh ripping apart as it hit the rough wall and the sound sickened me to the core. It hurt so bad that I couldn't scream, and the blood started to stain the wall after a few moments. Finally, he threw me back down against the floor of the balcony, and everything was reeling around me.

"You could have stopped this fate from happening to you. You don't want to die do you?" He said, as he picked my up by my long, mud brown hair.

Of course I didn't want to die! How could I have seen this coming? Did he think I was doing this to kill myself? He truly was insane. Still, he was my Gaara. I had to save him, no matter what. I had made this promise to myself, and I did not intend to break it.

"You're not Gaara." I spat at him, my breath ragged and shallow.

"What's that suppose to mean? I am Gaara." He said in a angry tone. "I'm the cold hearted monster you blindly fell in love with."

"The Gaara I love isn't a monster!" I cried, trying to stay calm. "My Gaara was quiet, full of wise sayings and helpful advice. He was someone who would always listen to me, and he would be there to help stop the tears. He was the Gaara who had told me he loved me that night as we stood outside the hotel in the moonlight. The Gaara who bandaged up my ankle and sat with me as I shivered in his tent. That is my Gaara; the real Gaara."

It was silent for a moment, then he started to laugh. It started out as a small chuckle that grew into a loud crazy one. It chilled my heart to hear it. He just threw me to the ground and started to kick me in the side. Each kick made me cough, and soon there was blood running from the side of my lips. I knew that he was truly serious about killing me. He reached down and ran his fingernails through my skin slowly, drawing blood and more shuddering coughs from my end.

He picked me up again, this time by the neck. He moved over to the railing, so that my feet were dangling in the air. If he let go, I would fall and die instantly. If he didn't, I would be strangled to death. Either way, death was waiting for me.

"Any last words before I finish you off?" He asked, tightening his grip around my coarse neck.

"I.." I said, losing my supply of air quickly.

There was only one thing that I could think to say. It was the truth, straight from my heart. The world was fading around me, so I had better say it quick before I ended up dying.

"Still love you.." I let out raggedly. "If I can't be with you.. I should die. No matter what you do."

He tightened his grip on me, and my lungs were burning with such an intensity I thought that they would burst into flames at any moment. I wasn't getting enough air, and everything was starting to leave before my eyes. The last thing I saw was the fierce redness of Gaara's hair and of my blood splattered against the wall.


	14. Fear

**Chapter 11: Fear **

Something cool was touching my brow. Wait a minute! I could feel something, meaning I wasn't dead! My skin felt like fire against the coolness of the thing on my head.

I cracked open my eyes and saw the dim light of the room around me. I knew that I was in Kankuro's room,because of the way the room was set up. I looked up and there was Temari, sitting in a chair beside the bed that I was sleeping in. She was looking away, a sad look on her face. What was she thinking about?

"Te-" I whispered, my voice scratchy and hoarse.

She quickly turned to face me, tears in her eyes. "Esther! Thank you god!"

Suddenly, she got up from her chair. She ran over to the door and opened it with such an intensity that I thought she was going to rip it out of its hinges.

"Kankuro!!" She screamed. "She's awake!"

I heard the sound of a small thud, and then the sound of hurried footsteps running down the stair case from the main floor. Soon, Kankuro was in the room, looking over at me, Temari right beside him.

"Ka-" I said, trying to sit up, but Temari pushed me back into the bed gently.

"Dummy!" She cried, shaking her head. "Don't get up. You'll put to much strain on your body. Don't you remember what happened?"

The things Gaara had done to me flooded back, and I remember how mush pain I was in before I passed out. No wonder she didn't want me to get up. I was probably a blob of cuts and bruises.

"Sleep.. how long?" I asked, trying to see why they were so excited for me waking up.

"Well," Kankuro said, running a hand through his hair. "It's been three days, almost four."

"You gave us all a huge scare." Temari suddenly, staring at me with intensely sad eyes. "Gaara just walked into my room, carrying you like a limp doll. He was yelling my name and you were the first thing I saw when I woke up. You were covered in blood and so pale I thought I was in a nightmare. Sucks that it wasn't."

I just looked away, not sure of what to say. I can't believe that after all that happened, Gaara put everyone else through hell as well. If only I had just stayed in bed that night.

"So. Sorry." I managed, starting to cry.

"Don't tell me you're blaming yourself?" Kankuro said, looking at me with an astonished look in his eyes. I nodded as my response. How could I not?

"It's not your fault, it's mine." Kankuro said, looking away. "I put too much trust in Gaara. I was the one who told you that he would have enough sense to stop before he went too far. I feel like such an idiot for lying to you."

"Come on, Kankuro." Temari said, patting her brother on the shoulder. "How were you supposed to know anything of this was going to happen? How were any of us supposed to know?"

"I did know, but only a little bit. I was ignorant. I should have been more watchful." He said, clenching his fist.

"Well," Temari said, putting a hand on her head. "If we keep thinking about the ifs or the what could have happens, it's not going to make anything or anyone any better. We need to all be thinking about ways to make Esther get back to normal as soon as she can. Right?"

"Right." He replied reluctantly. "After I send him to hell and back. Maybe then I'll have a little more peace of mind."

"Kankuro!" Temari said, shooting her brother a look.

"Sorry..." I said again, closing my eyes. Maybe it was better if I had stayed asleep. After I had said sorry again, they fell silent for a few moments.

"I think it's time that we left." Temari said irritably. "She's had enough of us for the moment."

"Sure." Kankuro said, and everything fell silent as I fell asleep once again.

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I heard the sound of someone breathing, breaking my dreamless sleep. Something warm was surrounding my right hand. Who was it? I cracked open my eyes, and all I could see for a few moments was just darkness. Finally, my eyes adjusted and I saw who was holding my hand. It was Gaara.

He was looking away, as if the wall held some undecipherable secret. I coughed slightly, and his eyes diverted to my face immediately. He loosened his grip on my hand and sat there looking at me, his eyes cold and unreadable like usual, but then they changed. The expression he wore now was full of grief and sorrow I swore he was about to cry.

"Does anything hurt? Do you need anything?" He asked quietly, looking at me.

I shook my head, and he just nodded in response. It was silent between us for a few moments, and I just sat there staring at him, unsure of what I was going to say to him, or what he was going to say. Was he even going to say anything? Suddenly, he moved his hand forward, moving it slowly up towards my neck. My body started to tense up out of fear, and I bit my lips, holding back a scream. His hand immediately stopped moving and he got up.

"I should be going." He said, his back towards me.

I want to say something, but I couldn't. The damage was already done. He hurt me and I in turn hurt him. It was like a game of love and hurt, but the bad thing was it felt like there was no game over.

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I woke up and fell back into unconsciousness for almost a week. It was horrible for me just to wake up in the middle of the day and make Temari and Kankuro stop what they were doing to come and take care of me. I apologized a lot, but both of them told me that there was nothing to apologize for. As for Gaara, I never saw him again. Temari said that he was trying to drown his guilt for what he'd done by working all day with Baki, trying to learn as much as he could to be a good Kazekage. I just gulped back my tears when I heard that. I had lost Gaara forever.

One day I awoke and saw Temari standing over me, a jar in her hands. I opened my mouth and let out a small yawn, letting her now that I was awake. She stared at me and gave a small sigh.

"Good morning." she said, putting the jar down for a second.

"Morning." I managed, heaving a heavy cough.

"I wouldn't look down if I were you." She said, looking away. "I was just about to clean your wounds."

Of course I looked. I wish I had listened to her. My body was covered in deep purple bruises and lots of cuts and scrapes. It made me shudder for a moment, which made Temari shake her head.

"Didn't I just tell not to look? You never listen." she sighed, shaking her head. "I was just about to put some slave onto your wounds, but you just happened to wake up. I can come back and do it later, if you want."

"No. It's okay." I said, running a painful hand through my hair.

She shrugged. "Okay. It may hurt, but not as bad as what happened to you beforehand. You still want to go through with it?"

"Yeah." I said, trying to sound brave.

She just looked at me, and muttered something under her breath. She picked up the jar and scooped some of the salve out and started to spread it against my cuts. At first, it just stung a little bit. Then, the cuts grew hot and it hurt so badly, like someone running a hot blade along your skin. I bit my lips, trying to keep in my scream, but I only succeeded for a little while. Soon, I was screaming a high pitched scream that rang throughout the room. Temari kept going for a while, but then she abruptly put the jar back down.

"Sorry." she said, her head down. "I'll just do the rest later when you're asleep."

"It's my fault." I managed, reaching to squeeze her hand lightly.

She just shook her head again, and moved her hand away. She just walked towards the door and opened it without saying goodbye. After she opened the door, she stood still, staring deftly at cat man who was standing directly behind the open doorway, his arms crossed.

"I heard her screaming." He said, tilting his head in my direction. "Is everything alright?"

"Of course everything is alright." His sister said sharply, having reached her breaking point. "I was just bandaging her wounds. Don't tell me that now you don't trust me with her care."

"I do trust you with her care." He said, giving her a look. "If you weren't here, who else could take care of her? She is a woman."

Temari just shook her head, and pushed past her brother with a huff. Kankuro watched her disappear down the hallway, and gave a sigh. He muttered something under his breath, then came over and sat by my bedside.

"You alright?" He asked, putting his hand on my forehead.

"Yeah." I said, closing my eyes. My whole body ached.

"It hurts doesn't it?" he said through pursed lips.

"Yeah." I murmured.

"I'm never letting that monster near you ever again." He growled, putting his hand on top of mine. "I'm going to take care of you and I promise that you will never going to get hurt again. I promised you before, and I intend to keep it."

I was too tired to argue with him. I just fell back asleep, leaving him and his promise for another time.

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I cracked my eyes open, to feel the pain pounding through my head. A wet cloth was laid across my forehead, and the cool water was dripping in little streams down my face. The room was spinning for a moment, and when it finally laid calmly before my eyes I let out a small cough. Something moved in the corner of my eye, and I glanced over there quickly to see Gaara sitting beside my bedside, moving his hand quickly from my side.

"Gaara." I said, my voice coming out hoarse.

"Do you need anything?" He asked, peering into my eyes.

"No. I'm just a little warm." I said, truthfully.

He just nodded, and finally got up from his chair. I knew he was going to leave, but I didn't want him to. Strangely, I didn't feel afraid of him like the time before when he reached over, almost touching my neck. He continued to walk to the door, and only turned around once before he reached the door. He just stared at me, his eyes looking at me, trying to read my expression. With all my energy gone, it was hard to smile or frown for too long, so I just sat there with expressionless. After a few moments, he turned back around and walked out of the room, leaving me in the dark, eerily calm room.

I was so confused. I wanted to be alone at that moment, but I also wanted Gaara to be with me, sitting by bedside, as if he actually cared for me. He always did this to me; he always acted like he still cared for me, then he would just get up and leave and return only if I pleaded with him, like when we were in the field and I almost froze. I loved Gaara, didn't I? I wasn't sure anymore. Could you still love someone after they tired to kill you? Would things ever quite be the same, so innocent and open like when we were sixteen?

I pushed myself up in the bed, the pain pushing through my body, making my heart thump loudly in my chest, being put under a lot of pressure. I just shook my head stubbornly, and continued to sit up in the bed. After a few moments, I pushed myself to pull my legs around and placed them on the cold stone floor. I sat like that for a few moments, then I stood up. My legs started to shake, and it felt like I was made of jelly, not flesh and blood. I tried to find something to hold onto for support, but everything was too far away. I just fell to the floor with a loud thud.

I started to shake and cry, my body convulsing on the cold floor. I was so tired of all this. I never wanted this, I never asked for this. I just wanted to leave this place, and never come back. I wouldn't care if I could back to my college dorm room, and never see Gaara, or anyone else in this world. It felt like ever since I came back, everything was different and less carefree than I remembered. I just wanted to be free from all this stuff that was filling my heart.

I heard the door creak open again, and the sound of Gaara's footsteps. Something dropped to the floor and I heard him come forward, and place his hands on my back.

"Hey, what are you doing?" He whispered, helping me sit up. "You shouldn't be out of bed."

I just stared at him, the tears rolling down my face. He was just staring at me, his hands holding my shoulders. I bit my lips, ands just threw my arms around him, blubbering like a little baby. He just sat there, and he finally put his arms around me lightly.

"What's wrong? Can I do anything to help?" He whispered into my ear.

"I don't know what to do anymore!" I said into his chest, my voice muffled. "I don't want to stay here anymore! I want to go home! Take me home!"

He didn't respond for a second, then he just picked me up in his arms, and carried me out the door. He walked right out of the house and out into the village. He just carried me all the way through the village, until we got to the desert just outside the village. There, he put me down in the sand and just stood there beside me, his arms crossed as he looked out around the desert.

"Look," He said, after a moment.. "You know that I can't take you back home, to the other world. I'll do anything else for you. If you don't want to stay here with Temari, Kankuro, and i, i promise I will take you somewhere where you can live peacefully. This is all up to you. What do yo want, Esther?"

I stared out across the desert, that seemed to stretch forever into the horizon. I didn't really want to leave here. I loved Temari, Kankuro, and Gaara. The problem was, if Gaara didn't love me, there was o reason for me to stay here. That was the only reason that I came into this world.

I dug my hands into the sand, and pushed myself up. I felt like jelly again, but I was finally able to stand up for longer than a moment.

"Don't come near me!" I said coldly, as I heard Gaara step forward. "Stay where you are."

He stopped in his tracks, and everything was silent again. "I guess you've decided." He said after a moment.

"I want to leave, but you will not help me get there, or now where I will be moving to. After all, you don't care about me anymore." I said, a trace of bitterness in my voice.  
There. I had finally said it. I didn't want to really leave, but if Gaara truly didn't love me, I might as well pack my bags and say good bye everything that had to deal with the Sand. Still, where would i go?

"I don't know what to say." Gaara said, interrupting my thoughts.

"Really." I said, turning around so that I faced him. He was just staring at me, his arms crossed against his chest. "You, the person with all the answers, has no idea what to say. I don't believe you."

He just stared at me, then threw his arms down to his sides. "Look," he said, dropping his head. "I don't know what to say, because..... I don't want you to leave."

"Really?" I said, trying not to let my real emotions play out. He might just be playing with me. I needed to know more. I needed to know the truth.

"Yes." He said, this time looking up into my eyes. "I want you to stay here in the Sand. I want to see you here, happy and smiling again, with Temari, Kankuro.. and me. The truth is.. I still love you, but I was trying to get over you. It seems I can't no matter what I do."

My heart thumped loudly in my chest. He just stood there his eyes shining in such a way that I knew that he couldn't be lying. Gaara was still my Gaara, even through all of this pain. Oh Boggy Jones!

I let the tears roll down my face as I crumpled to the ground. This was all too much for me to take in one night. I heard him come forward, but I stopped him as I spoke again.

"I told you to stay where you are!" I cried, wiping the tears away hastily.

He just stopped again, heeding my words. I looked up at him, and he was just staring down at me with such a sad look on his face it felt like he was the one who was crying, not me. I pushed myself up, and ran towards him, my feet wanting to stop after each painful step that I took. I wrapped my arms around him and stood like that, the tears falling quietly down my cheeks.

"Oh, Gaara!" I cried. "Don't ever leave me. Promise you'll make me happy again, promise that you'll stay with me forever."

"I promise you." He said, placing his lips on my head.

Luckily, my legs decided to give up at that moment. I started to fall, but Gaara caught me and held me steady.

"You," He said, looking down at me. "Should not have gotten out of bed. We should be going back now. You need your rest."

I just nodded, and he picked me up and carried me all the way back to the house. I felt so dizzy and happy the entire way back. I placed my head in the crook of his neck and just closed my eyes, inhaling his scent. It was the best scent in the entire world.

Once back at house, we silently made our way down to the lower level, because Kankuro was asleep on the couch in the first room beside the door. Down in Kankuro's room, he placed me down on the bed and turned away, as if he was going to leave. I grabbed him lightly on the sleeve, and he turned around to face me.

"Where are you going?" I whispered.

"Back to my room." He said, turning away from me. You need your rest."

"No." I pleaded silently. "Please stay with me."

He just looked at me, then he shrugged. "Fine."

I gave a small smile as he came and sat on the edge of the bed. His hand only an inch away from mine. I had to expect this much from him. He was opening up, little by little. This was a pretty big step for him on his way of learning to love and care. I placed my hand on top of his, and closed my eyes and turned to my side, so that I was facing him. My heart was beating so fast, I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep easily, but it was okay. If I could sit like this with Gaara forever, I would be the happiest person in the world of Naruto. After a while, I fell asleep, a smile plastered on my face.

**AN: **Yay! Finally a happier mood. I felt sooooooo depressed writing Chappie 10, so I decided that Chappie 11 should be a little more on the bright side. Please review!:)


	15. Unexpected Visitor

**Chapter 12: A Visit from the Least Expected**

There was a series of loud bangs. I cracked my eyes open, to see the dimly lit room around me. I just sat in bed, thinking that it was only Temari and Kankuro fighting. Suddenly, there was another loud bang, and I heard Temari yell something, and then the banging stopped. Suddenly, everything got eerily quiet, and then there was the sound of the door closing, and someone making their way down the stairs. The door to my room soon opened, and someone I never expected stepped inside.

"Uncle Danny!" I heaved, trying to sit up in bed.

He came over to the bedside and helped me sit up. "Hey there, kiddo!" He said, ruffling my hair.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, putting my arm on his shoulder. "You shouldn't be in this world."

Before he respond, Kankuro and Temari charged into the room. They took one look at me, then at Uncle Danny. Their hostile glares simmered down and they just sat there, staring at me.

"Is this guy really your uncle, Esther?" Kankuro asked, motioning towards him. "You don't have to lie."

"I wouldn't." I said, shaking my head. "This really is my Uncle Danny, guys. I would know him better than anyone."

"Same goes for me." Uncle Danny said, giving a wide grin that made his wrinkles spread like ripples across his face and made his dark blue-gray eyes sparkle. "I've known this piglet since she was born, and everything about her, stuff that you would never know because she would be too embarrassed to tell you!"

I blushed and swatted him lightly on the shoulder. "Uncle Danny! You-" I suddenly started to cough, my body racked with spasms. Uncle Danny laid his hand across my back and held me steady, as they died down to a low hoarse sound.

"That's the reason I came here." He said, eying Temari and Kankuro. "I came to take my niece somewhere where she can heal."

"Heal? What do you think she's doing in here?" Temari spat at my uncle. She was not one to take insults lightly.

"You call this healing?" My uncle said, pointing to me. "How long have you been trying to heal her? Over a week and a half? Back where we came from, she would have been healed and up on her feet running around like the little bubble-head she is."

Temari looked away, taking offense to what he said. Kankuro, on the other hand, just looked at my uncle with more disgust.

"Uncle Danny.." I said, putting my hand on his. "You're not going to take me back, are you?"

"We're not going to let you." Kankuro said through gritted teeth before my uncle could respond.

Uncle Danny, feeling the hostility between him and the Sand Sibs, gave a little smile and swatted his hand through the air. "Of course not! Not unless she wants me too. That was our whole deal. The question is, do you Esther?"

I shook my head violently, remembering the night I had with Gaara. I couldn't leave now that things were finally looking up. "No! I don't want to go back with you! I want to stay here with all the people I love."

Uncle Danny laughed. "I thought that you would say that. Well," he said, getting up. "Esther will be living with me in my house here in the village. When she's all better, I'll send her back to you guys and I'll be on my way back to my family in the other world. That's final."

"Until she's all better?" Kankuro asked. "When will that be?"

My uncle shrugged. "Whenever she's back on her feet, functioning like a normal person. Maybe a few days if we're lucky. Maybe longer. Until then I think you should give Esther some space to be on her own and have a little peace of mind. I'm sure she's going crazy thinking that she's being a huge burden to all of you."

He got up off the bed and smiled down at me. "Ready to go, piglet princess?"

I cracked a smile, remembering the nickname he had given me since I was a little girl. "Whenever you are."

He suddenly picked me up in his arms, giving us all a shock. I clung onto his arms as he gave a little laugh.

"Oof.." He said, heaving a cough. "You sure have gotten heavier since the last time I picked you up."

"Hey!" Temari said, crossing her arms. "You don't seriously intend to take her right this moment? I still have to redress her wounds, and Gaara.. well, he's not-"

"He's not what?" My uncle said, looking at the woman. "He's the reason Esther's in this state, is he not? Well, truthfully, I don't care what that boy thinks. If he wants to speak to me, tell him to drop by my house later, with Esther's things. I have a few things I'd like to knock into his head first before he gets the wise idea of yelling at me, like I'm the one at fault here."

Temari just gave a shrug and moved out of the doorway. "At least tell us where your house is." she muttered, thinking logically.

"Of course. My house is the last house that you come to if you turn right from your house." My uncle said, his directions brief and to the point, like usual. "Well, we should be going before it gets too dark. Nice meeting all of you."

Neither of them muttered a reply. Uncle Danny just pushed past them and made his way out of the house. Outside, the sun had just set and the sky was just starting to darken. The streets were all deserted, as people were probably already home, getting ready to rest. Uncle Danny didn't say a word until I spoke up first.

"What do you mean I can't see Temari and Kankuro until I'm better?" I asked impatiently.

He laughed. "My, my. I'll tell you as soon as we get home, alright? I'm sure you have a lot more questions than that."

"Of course I do." I said, crossing my arms.

We finally made it to the house. Uncle Danny kicked the door, and with a loud bang it opened. We stepped inside, to a dimly lit hallway. Uncle Danny was always a little on the weird side, but this was just a little bit creepy. He, of course, lived like this and took it as a norm. He walked up a small flight of stairs to an upper level, and walked through one of the doorways.

Inside the room was a very girl bed and decor. It reminded me of a room that I would have had when I was a little girl. Somehow, though, it was weird just for uncle Danny to have a room meant specifically for a girl in his house. Finally, it all made sense.

"Uncle Danny, was this room for Miri?" I asked, thinking about my younger cousin.

"Yep." he said as he placed me on the bed. "When you really little, probably too little to remember, I was having some problems with my job in the art business. So, I sharpened this place up just in case worse came to worse and I had to bring my family over here. Luckily, I never did and I got to watch you and all my children grow up."

"Really?" I said, staring him in the eye. I could never imagine my loud-mouth cousins living in this world. They were the kind of people who needed to stay in modern-a-go-go land, not here in ninja world.

"Really." He said, ruffling my hair. "Now, what are the rest of your questions?"

I cracked a smile. He read my mind like a revealed card. "Why did you come here all of a sudden? How can you get to this world so easily? Why can't I see Temari and Kankuro? Do I have to stay in this room all the time? I'll get so bored!"

"Now, now," he laughed. "One at a time!"

"Sorry." I said, giving a sheepish smile.

"Anyway," he said, crossing his arms. "Since I'm the one that brought you into this world, I am able to get little flashes of what is happening to you here with those three. A few days ago, I got a flash of you, laying in a pool of blood with that boy, Gaara, standing over you a strange horrid, look in his eyes. Then, his eyes went all deathly frightened looking and he ran into the house, and that was the end of it. I was worried to death, and so I had to come back over here and check on you."

"To your second question, I can't really tell you. It's not something that can be easily shared. Let's just say it's good for the both of us if I can get into this world easy. Anyway," He said, scratching his head, "I'm going to be here to help you heal up so you can be up on your feet, like you want. I just want you to be alone for a while so that you can clear your mind, and decide what you what to do. If you stay, or if you come back home with me, it's going to be tough, let me tell you. Once you're able to move around a little, we'll move around to different parts of the house. Is that fine?"

"Yeah." I said, shrugging. "I guess. It's probably going to take a while for all of it to sink in, but that's just how it works with me."

He laughed. "I kind of guessed. Well, you should go and rest. I'll come and wake you up tomorrow morning, alright?"

"Yeah, but Uncle Danny," I said, laying down in the bed. "If Gaara comes, please be kind to him. He really is sorry for all he's done. Don't make the situation any worse than it can get at the moment. Alright?"

It was silent for a few moments. Finally, he got up off the side of the bed. "I'll try." He said, trying to sound as cheerful as he was a few moments ago, but I knew it was fake. He truthfully probably wanted to hurt him for all he did to me, or worse. "Good night."

I was tired of yelling at him, so I just rested my head against the feather-soft pillow. I stared at the pale pink wall and sighed. This was going to be hard, not seeing Temari, Kankuro, and even Gaara. I wanted to get better, but while they were around. This just made me make myself promise that I would get better as quickly as i could. With that confident promise, I fell into a deep, much needed sleep.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wakey, wakey" Uncle Danny's voice called, shattering the peaceful energy I was sleeping in. "Eggs and baky!"

"Hmmmm.." I moaned, keeping my eyes shut.

"Come on!" He said cheerfully, shaking me slightly. "I have good news."

"What?" I said, trying to sit up. I finally got up after a few tries and little help. He had a small smile playing on his old face,

"Gaara came to visit me last night." He said, his smile dying down. "I didn't end up killing him, like I had assumed."

"Uncle Danny!" I cried, looking him with an aghast look on my face.

"I would say I'm just joking, but I'm not." He said, scratching his head. "Anyway, he just wanted me to tell you that he wishes, as well as his siblings, that you heal quickly. He also said that he will oblige to welcoming you back into his household when you are ready to return."

I gave a small smile. "He sounds more and more like a Kazekage everyday."

"That doesn't mean that he's responsible enough yet." He scoffed. "Even though he acts like an adult, he makes such large mistakes that he could have avoided. Just look at yourself. You're proof enough that he's still an insecure adolescent."

"Please don't keep saying such negative things about him." I said, frowning. "You know I don't like it."

"I'll try." he said, giving a small thumbs up. "Anyway, I think it's time that you had some breakfast. Hungry?"

"No, not really." I said. "Truthfully, I haven't had anything to eat since that incident happened."

"Ah." He said, looking down at me, as if trying to get a better look of my condition. "Well, how about a little bit of tea then? You can't take medicine on an empty stomach."

"Medicine?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, yes." He said, handing me a cup of tea. "Just drink up and I'll tell you what it is."

"Fine." I muttered.

I took a small sip of the tea, and I felt it travel through my body until it got to my empty stomach. It was a very nice tea; sweet, but easy on my stomach. I finished about half of the cup when I started to feel full.

"I can't drink anymore." I said, pushing the cup back to him.

He looked down inside of the cup, and gave a little frown. "Not even half." He muttered, shaking his head. "Well, here's your medicine."

He handed me two little pills, something uncommon in the sand. Everything here was healed by chakra, or salves, like what Temari had used on me. Machine-generated pain killers where so totally futuristic items in this world.

"How did you get this here?" I asked, looking back at him. "And what exactly is it?"

"That," he said, gesturing towards the pills. "Is morphine. It's what they would give you in a hospital to help numb your pain. It's some pretty powerful stuff, so don't expect to be moving around a lot. Plus, it makes you really sleepy. I brought them here just in case they were ever needed, and you're lucky to have them."

"Oh." I said, staring down at them. "Alrighty then."

I swallowed the morphine pills one by one, feeling them pass slowly down my throat. After I finished that, I just stared at him, a small smile playing on my face.

"So how is this supposed to help me?" I asked.

"It'll block out the pain while I put some stuff on your wounds that will help them heal much faster than that salve that they were using. Plus, it'll help stop the scarring, though I'll tell you now that you will have some scars."

"Oh." I said, looking down. "That's just dandy."

"I'm sorry." he replied, putting his hand on my shoulder. "Well, I have some work to take care of, so just call me if you need anything. Alright?"

"Yeah." I said, starting to feel the numbness spread through my body. I laid back down in the bed, and closed my eyes, and fell back asleep, as if my body was drained of energy.

**AN: ah, and the story continues:) No reviews as of last chappie... Please do! I love to know what you all think!**


	16. Becoming Me Again

**Chapter 13: Preparing to Be Me Again**

Days passed so slowly, or so it seemed. For the first few days in Uncle Danny's care, I was given the morphine pills to help ease the pain he said came associated with healing wounds. I, who never had anything worse than a sprain, believed what he said. After that, he stopped giving me the morphine and made me walk for a set amount of time around the house. The first few days were the hardest, my legs throbbing as I limped around the second floor at a pace slower than a turtle. After the pain slowly diminished, I was free to go to any room that I chose.

The piano room became my place of seclusion after I woke up every morning and had breakfast with Uncle Danny. It was a lovely, spacious room; probably the size of a regular piano room back in our world. The only things that crowded the room where the piano, of course, a reclining couch placed beside the window, as well as a small glass table. I sat at the piano most hours, trying to read some music that was in the piano books Uncle Danny had provided for my use. I usually got frustrated with the music, because it was to tough for my puny brain to read, so I just played the music that I remembered from my teen years of playing piano. I usually got really into it, since no one was around to watch me be crazy. It was a nice way to spend my days.

While having fun, I still thought about things that were important. Mostly, I thought about living in this world, or if I should go back with my uncle. If I went back to the real world, I wouldn't know to explain where I had been, or why all of a sudden I came back. If I stayed here, I didn't know how i would be treated by Temari and Kankuro, as well as the other people of the Sand if they found out I was in love with Gaara. He was on his way to be the Kazekage, and a lot of people would think I would be a hindrance to his greatness. They could kick me out of their country, but then where would I go?

One day, as I was playing a slow piece on the piano, there was a series of knocks were heard on the door of the piano room. I stopped playing the piano and spun around in my chair. I knew for sure it wasn't Uncle Danny, because he had no reason to knock.

"Please come in." I called, fixing the end of my light purple dress.

The door opened slightly, and Gaara stepped inside the room. His face was illuminated by the afternoon light, as his eyes locked onto mine. I gave him a slight smile and stood up from my seat on he piano bench.

"Hey." I said, greeting him.

"Hello." he said, looking around the room. "So this is where he keeps you locked up."

I made a face at him. "He doesn't lock me up here. I choose to sit in here. It's actually quiet peaceful."

"Of course." He said, looking back at me.

I didn't feel like going on on this note, so I didn't give a quirky response back to him. It was silent between us for a few moments, until i finally spoke up again.

"Would you like to sit down?" I asked, gesturing around the room.

"No, thank you." He replied. "I just came up here to tell you that your uncle expects you down for dinner in a few minutes, changed and ready."

"Oh, okay." I said, giving a smile. "Are you staying for dinner as well?"

"Yes." He said. "Your uncle invited me, and I couldn't decline."

"Yay!" I said, giving him a wider smile. "That makes me really happy."

He just stared at me for a second, then shook his head. "Wonderful. Well, hurry and get ready then."

With that, he left the room and went down to the first level of the house. I walked backed to my room and changed into a navy blue top, as well as a feather-light tri-shade blue skirt that ended at my knees. I made sure my hair was brushed and slung into a gentle side pony tail. After I made sure I didn't look like a complete mess, I made my way silently down the stairs to the dining room.

Gaara and uncle Danny were sitting opposite of each other at the table, staring blankly at their plates. Once I stepped through the door frame, they both looked up and gave me a stare. I just gave them a smile, and sat down at my chair, right beside Gaara. I served everyone while they just sat, each muttering a thank you as I put their plate down.

"It was so nice of you to invite Gaara to dinner, Uncle." I said, giving him a smile.

"Oh, I didn't invite him," Uncle Danny said putting his fork down for a moment. "He just happened to show up, and I thought it would make you happy to have him over for a while."

"Ah," I said, glancing over at Gaara. "Well, thank you anyway. It did make me happy."

"Well, I'm sure he came here for a reason, as well." Uncle Danny said, looking across the table at Gaara. "Why are you here, anyway?"

"My siblings were worried about Esther and they wanted me to come here and check on her progress." He said,looking at my uncle for the first time since we had started eating. "We also wanted to know when she will be returning."

"She'll be back soon enough." My uncle said. "Her wounds have pretty much healed, and she has little problems moving around. When she feels like she's ready to leave, to wherever she wants to return to, then she can leave my care."

"When will that be?" Gaara asked, directing the question more towards me than my uncle.

"I'd love to return soon enough." I said giving him a small smile. "I'm sure that Temari and Kankuro need help around the house, and I miss spending time with all of you. Although, you're probably very busy with getting ready to become Kazekage. I'm sure a loud house is the last thing you'd want to come home to after a long day of work."

"I don't really mind." He said politely. "A loud house is sometimes nice after a long day of working in silence."

There was a silence between the three of us. I knew we all wanted to say something, but none of us knew how to say it. Soon, Uncle Danny just looked at the two of us and cleared his throat.

"Well," he said, pushing his plate aside, "I would love some dessert right now. Didn't you make some ice cream yesterday, Esther?"

"Oh yeah!" I said, getting up. "Let me go and get it."

I got up from the table and went down into the room that held the ice box. I pulled out the old fashion ice cream churn and carried it back to the dining room. When Gaara saw me carrying that huge bulky thing, he whisked it out of my hands without a single word and placed it gently on the counter in the corner of the room.

"Thank you." I said, coming up beside him. "It wasn't that heavy."

He just looked down at me and sat back down at the table. I ran back into the kitchen and grabbed some little bowls, as well as some spoons. I went back into the dining room and placed a bowl in front of both of them. Gaara was the only one who looked up from his bowl as I sat down.

"What?" I asked, about to take a bite of my ice cream. "Do you not like mint ice cream? It's not that bad."

He didn't reply and just started eating his ice cream. We all ate slowly, staring into our own bowls, watching the light green ice cream melt into a puddle of liquid mush. After a while, I just looked up to see Gaara just staring into his empty bowl.

"Was it good?" I asked, looking at him.

He nodded. "Yes. Thank you."

"Alright!" Uncle Danny said, giving a loud sigh. "I can't take all this formal crap. It makes me feel like I'm eating dinner with some nobleman from England's royal family."

Gaara just raised an eyebrow, probably having no idea to what Uncle Danny was talking. "well, then. Is there something you'd like to say?"

"Nothing that I could say openly with her sitting at the table." He said, shooting me a look. "I'm just not sure if you're all that trustworthy."

"Uncle!" I said, looking at him. "How can you still be like this?"

"No," Gaara said, looking at me. "He's telling me exactly what he needs to know. I'd love to know what he's thinking."

"At least we're on the same grounds." He said, looking across the table his arms crossed in front of him. "Truthfully, I'm quite wary of your treatment of my niece. Since she appeared back in this village, you've been giving her nothing but hardships and insults. Knowing her, she's probably cried over this treatment many nights. Then you go berserk on her and leave her on the fine line of life and death, for know apparent reason. Than, you waltz in with a nice guy attitude, as if that would fix everything. You have no idea. You can't just go from monster to gentleman and expect to be forgiven so easily. Well, by me anyway. How can I know that you won't do this to her again?"

"You don't." Gaara said, truthfully. "I know I will not repeat the incident, but I can't promise her all the protection that you expect. I am human, and I make mistakes, but I try to find a way to prevent them from happening again. I could do something, maybe worse, if I can't keep myself in check."

"You make some pretty huge mistakes." He said, looking at me. "You're lucky I was able to come here and help my niece get back on her feet. I'm sure she's glad too."

"I am." I said, finally getting a say in this conversation. "But I'm also glad that Temari and Kankuro were there for me too. They never complained throughout this whole ordeal, and they've always been so positive about everything. I so thankful for everything they do for me."

"Well," Uncle Danny said, leaning forward. "That's all fine and dandy, Esther. The only question that I have left is, what do you want, Gaara?"

It was all too silent. Uncle Danny had asked the question that I had wanted to ask him since the incident had occurred. My heart was thumping, out of fear. I was afraid of what he was going to say.

"I," Gaara said, breaking the silence. "Want her to stay here, with my family, and especially me. I never wanted her to leave, not now nor the time before. She is happy here, and I intend to do whatever I humanly can to keep her happy forever. Her wish is my command."

I froze, a blush starting to fill across my cheeks. He had just been kind towards me for the first time I could remember. He said he wanted to make me happy. Forever.

"Esther?" Uncle Danny. "Are you alright?"

"Huh?" I said, looking towards him. "Oh, I'm fine. Just spaced out for a moment."

"Ah." He said, a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Well, I guess I should be off to bed. Being an old man makes you lose your energy so quickly. Do you think you could see Gaara out the door?"

"Of course!" I said, getting up out of my chair. I went over and gave him a hug. "Good night, Uncle."

He got up out of his chair slowly and just shook his head. "Thank you. I expect I'll be seeing some more of you soon, right boy?"

"Yes." Gaara said. "Thank you for letting me stay for dinner, and I hope you rest well."

"Thanks." Uncle Danny said, walking towards the second story.

After he left, Gaara looked at me from the table, his blue eyes staring into mine, as if they wanted to see or know more than what lied plain to them. After a few moments, he looked away and got up from the table and walked towards the door.

I just watched him go, not sure if I should follow him. After a while, my eyes just drifted over to the churn of ice cream and I decided it would be nice if I gave Gaara some to take back to Kankuro and Temari, since we had plenty. I ran back into the kitchen and put some into an easy to carry bucket.

I walked to the door, where Gaara was standing staring at me again, but this time with a calm, sort of peaceful expression. I just stared back at him, a small smile on my face.

"I know you have something to say to me." He said at last.

Of course I did. He knew me too well. "I was just surprised at something that you said." I replied truthfully.

"What did I say?" He asked quizzically.

"It was just that you said that my wish was your command." I said, blushing a little bit. "You said that before, but it was when you were trying to convince me to fall in love with Kankuro. You said that he was so in love with me, that he would do that very same thing."

"I had no idea I said that." He replied, his gaze still glued to me. "Still, I don't regret what I said, because it's the truth. I have no reason to ever lie to you."

I was quiet for a moment, basking in all that he had said. Could it be a dream? Could he actually be all this open with me?

"You're quiet." He said quietly.

"I'm sorry." I replied. "Its just- this all feels to real to be true."

"Why?" He asked.

"It's just," I said, trying to get the right words out. "That it feels like a dream. I 'm so use to you insulting me that you being kind to me is too good to be true."

He was just silent for a moment. "Well," he finally said. "I should be going before it gets too late. You need your rest."

"Oh, I'm fine." I said, looking down at my still bandaged arms. "Anyway, I packed you some ice cream to take home to Kankuro and Temari. Hopefully they like mint ice cream."

He took the bucket from me. "They do. Thank you."

"No problem." I said, looking up into his eyes, amazed at their calm quietness that still lingered there behind them.

He put the bucket down for a second, and I took the opportunity to snatch a hug from him. I put my arms lightly around him, and he immediately wrapped his around me. I leaned my head in against his chest and gave a sigh, as I closed my eyes. He was so warm and comfortable that I just wanted to stay like this for the rest of the evening. He placed his lips gently on the top of my head, his warm breath gently hitting my scalp.

After what seemed like eternity he finally me let go of me and I moved away. I just smiled at him and swung back and forth gently on my feet. He stared at my eyes, and then his eyes moved across my face.

"When can I come back to take you home?" He asked, his tone serious.

"Three days." I answered without thinking. "I need three days."

"Alright." He said, like usual. He wouldn't try to argue with me. "Have a nice night."

"Thank you." I replied warmly. "You take care of yourself alright? Don't overwork it"

He just shook his head at me as he turned around. He opened the door quickly, the warm night arm rushing into the dark house. He only turned around once, his eyes lingering on mine, the bucket of ice cream swinging in his hand. He held his other hand up and waved a quick, silent good bye. I waved back, giving him a wider smile. He finally closed the door and I was able to sigh in relief, glad that our meeting had been one I could cherish in my heart.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The three days had gone by too slowly, or so it seemed to me. On the second day, something unexpected happened. Uncle Danny announced to me as we ate breakfast that day that he had to return back to the other world immediately, and he left me in charge of the house. He said that he wasn't going to be able to come back anytime soon, so we may our parting goodbyes with tears and hugs, and he handed me a envelope with Gaara's name on it in Uncle Danny's beautiful cursive. With that, he left into another room and was gone in the dreary silence.

The rest of the time I just spent walking around the house, cleaning or organizing things wherever I went. (Uncle Danny was never much of a planned person. That was always my aunt's job.) After a few hours of that, I was so pooped out that I just decided to call it a day and plopped into bed after a nice refreshing shower.

All I pretty much did the third day was lay around the house, waiting for Gaara to come as he had promised. I knew that he was probably coming some time in the afternoon, and with Uncle Danny gone, everything felt like it was dragging on forever in a state of total boredom. I finally gave into waiting and went up to the piano room and actually occupied myself with some new music for a good few hours.

Finally, as dawn was setting, a loud repetitive knocking was heard at the front door. I jumped off the piano bench, and rushed to the front door. After taking a couple of seconds to make sure I didn't look like I got hit by a tornado, I opened the door to a very irritated looking Gaara.

"Hi th-" I started, before he interrupted me.

"Where's your uncle?" He asked, walking into the house.

"Oh, he left." I said, avoiding his icy glare. "It was early yesterday. It was kind of unexpected, but that's my uncle."

"That's just great!" He yelled, slamming his fist against the wall.

"Why?" I squeaked, my body full of tremors. "Is something wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong." He said, shoving a handful of papers into my hands. "I just needed some stupid answers. Of course he was going to run off and leave me hanging like this."

"Calm down." I said, looking down at the small stack of papers in my hands. "Let me look over these and after you cool down, we'll talk."

He just shot me another look, as if to tell me that he was already calmed down. I just ignored him, and moved away from him as quickly as I could. I sat myself down in the living room, and started to flip over the stack of papers and get down to exactly what was making him so irritated. After looking at the first sheet that I happened to glance at, my eyes grew wide.

They were legal papers. About me. Me who had grown up in a totally different world, and had a whole family somewhere else. The me that was never apart of this world. The strange thing was, this legal paper had everything right. My birthday, how much I weighed when I was born, the name of my mother and father, my blood type, my eye and hair color. Everything.

"What is this?" I squeaked, feeling the color drain out of my face.

"That's exactly what I came here to do." Gaara said from where he leaned against the wall. "But just keep shuffling through them. It gets stranger."

I raised an eyebrow at him, but I kept looking. It did get weirder. There were photos of me, as a little girl in this world, surrounded by my mom and dad, but they were here in this world. My parents had never stepped foot into this world, or so far as I know. The one thing that stopped me the most was this one picture. It was a picture of me, standing beside a burned area, the tips of my hair singed and my eyes so lifeless and sad I could hardly believe it was me. But it was me, a long time ago.

I kept shuffling through the stack, holding that one picture securely in my right hand. There had to be something in this stack of papers that made a little sense of this picture. Finally, I found what I was looking for.

"Due to the fire caused by a group of rogue ninja," I read aloud. "I hereby sign this document that gives me legal rights to my niece, Esther, who was formally apart of the village of Nakama, part of the Wind Country, that was throughly burned to the ground. Her parents bodies were never found, and I am her closest relative. Signed, Daniel Gibbs."

"Now you know why I wanted to talk to him." Gaara said, coming closer as he sat down on a chair.

"But why?" I asked, as I continued to look through the stack of stuff that was all about me. "Why did we never find out about this? Were we supposed to even find out? What if we weren't? I'm so confused!"

He didn't respond, because he knew that I knew that he had no sort of answer that he could give me. So we just sat there in the silence as I clutched onto the picture of me with the singed hair and lifeless eyes. After a while, I decided to look over at Gaara, who was looking at me with an almost peaceful expression on his face.

"What?" I asked, tilting my head.

"It's been three days." He replied. "I was just thinking about how I was going to get you and all your stuff back."

I made a face at him. "It's mean! If you want, I'll carry some of the stuff back to the house. Then you don't have to worry."

"With how injured you were? I don't think so." He said, giving me a hard stare. "You don't even know some of the stuff that was injured do you?"

"No." I said, looking down. "I'm afraid to ask."

"Why?" He asked. "If I was in your situation, I would want to know what's wrong. So at least I'd know the whole truth of what happened to me."

"It's just." I said, as a tremor spread through my body. "I don't want to think about it anymore. What's in the past is in the past."

"Multiple bruises and gashes." He said unexpectedly, looking away from me, as he began to list out my injuries. "Two broken ribs, a fractured bone in your left arm, a fractured bone in your right ankle, a mild concussion, an almost severe head wound, bruised internal organs, and loss of blood."

I stared down at my body, trying to imagine all of those things broken at the same time. I was lucky that I was unconscious for the most part as my body healed. It was a scary part, as I remembered how my body looked not even two weeks ago when Temari had told me not to look. It also made me realize how destructive Gaara could be without having to kill me. It was horrifying to realize how naïve I was to the power Gaara held in his hands.

A few tears rolled down my face, but I quickly wiped them away as he watched me. I just shook my head and gave a small smile. "I'm such an idiot, aren't I?"

"You're not an idiot." He replied slowly. "You just chose to put trust in me at a bad time."

"I guess." I laughed, handing the papers back to him. "Well, let me go and get my stuff and we can be on our way."

"I said I would take them." He said, getting up. "Just show me where your stuff is."

"Fine." I replied, getting up. "Follow me."

We walked up the flight of stairs, to the room where I spent my time in this house. My stuff was already packed and sitting on the bed. He just looked at me, and then at all the stuff I had. It wasn't much, because I only had packed a few things with me from the world that I had lived in. I didn't really care too much; this world wasn't a material world.

"Your uncle gave you some new dresses, right?" He asked as he picked up my one measly bag of clothing.

"Yes, kind of." I replied, holding a fold of my new silky purple dress. "They were supposed to be for my cousin, Miri, but he had said I could have as many as I wanted, since she was never going to use them."

"Ah." He replied, as he walked out the door. "Well, let's go."

"Sure." I said as I looked around my little room. I spotted the letter sitting on the nightstand beside my bed. "Oh, wait a second. This is for you"

I ran over and grabbed it and made my way back to him. As he took it, He looked down at it, then at me, and made his way out of the room and to the front door. I followed behind him slowly clutching the letter. He opened the front door for me and I was greeted by the early night sky. The fresh air was really refreshing and i gave a smile as I was led outside.

We walked down the deserted street in silence. I looked up at Gaara, whose eyes were darting down the street and at the houses we passed. I reached out and took his hand gently, and his gaze changed slowly as he looked down at me. I just gave a small smile to him as he gave a small squeeze to my hand.

After a few minutes of walking, we got back the house that was so familiar to me. I felt so happy, to be back at the place I loved the most. This was the place that I would always be welcomed, the place I would never be alone. I was home.

**AN: Yay! Another chappie! I was so overwhelmed by the reviews that I had to update quickly! I'm not having the best day in the world, so some nice reviews would cheer me up! Thanks!**


	17. Me, Of All People Pt 1

**Chapter 14: Me, of All People**

The day of Gaara's transition into being Kazekage was steadily approaching. Each day seemed so short, so fleeting because I spent most of my days occupied until he came home, which ranged from the early evenings to late into the night. The couch that was the closest thing to the front door became my second bed, but I couldn't complain. It was the place Gaara came and sat with me, without the prying eyes of his siblings. Some nights when I was really tired, he would just let me fall asleep in his arms. Each morning, to my dismay, I was back in my bed, with him off at the office.

Temari and Kankuro kept me busy, trying to keep their questions and comments to themselves. I know that each of them had been weary to the relationship between their brother and me, because of the "dark night", which the incident came to be called. I really wished the one of them would just randomly burst and tell me what was on their minds. It would be way better than living like this in a sort of denial.

One day, I had a surprise. When I woke up in the morning, after a quick rinse off and a change of clothes, I walked groggily up to the kitchen to get my usual cup of tea. As I approached, the kitchen table, I looked up and saw Gaara sitting there at the table, staring at me. I just sighed, thinking it was my imagination. Gaara should be at work.

"I guess that's suppose to be good morning?" He asked, making me realize that he actually was sitting at the kitchen table.

"Oh!" I replied, jumping a little bit. "Good morning, Gaara. Aren't you suppose to be at the office?"

"I got a day off." He replied, giving me a little shrug. "Baki was always complaining that I never have time to rest."

I smiled. "Baki is very smart. I'm glad that he was your sensei."

"I wonder if I'm suppose to take offense to that." He replied somewhat sarcastically. "Anyway, we do have some items of business to take care of today."

"We?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

He shook his head slowly. "No, not we as in you and I. We as in you and Temari."

"Really?" I said somewhat sadly. I was never allowed out in public with Gaara. For what reason, it was still unknown to me. "What do Temari and I have to do?"

"How am I supposed to know?" He asked, looking back at his paper. "Go eat your breakfast and head on out. She said that she was going to be waiting outside."

"Yes, sir." I said, resisting the urge to give him a salute.

After I scarfed down a cup of tea and gave a quick hug to Gaara before he could protest, I ran out the door like a schoolgirl that woke up late and was frantically making her way to school. Temari was waiting outside the door, her eyes watching the clouds that floated through the sky. I smiled; it was something that Shikamaru was mostly found doing back in Konoha. I guessed he had rubbed off on her more than I realized.

"Hey!" I said cheerfully, waking her from her daydreams.

"Finally!" She replied, giving me a joking grin. "I thought you were never going to be ready."

"Sorry." I said, scratching my head. "I didn't know that we were going out until Gaara told me. What are our plans for the day?"

"Well," She replied, "We have a couple of errands to run, like getting some food, and returning some books to Baki."

"Cool." I said, giving a smile. "I haven't seen Baki in a while."

"You'll see him soon enough." She said, starting to walk off. "Come on, you slow poke, I already wasted enough time on you!"

"She's still such a meanie at heart." I muttered as I followed behind her.

We walked through the streets, down to the main markets where a large majority of the women and smaller children were found while the older children were at ninja training school, or just out playing near a small playground on the far side of the village. Some of the women stared at me, scrutinizing my used dark blue gown, as they soon whispered to each other. They didn't care much for Temari, except for the fact that I was in her company. Whatever they were saying, it probably wasn't nice.

Temari took an abrupt right, and I swerved in after her, walking down a smaller dirt path. She just looked at me and smiled, and continued to walk until we got to another set of buildings. She stopped outside of one that had lovely linens hanging from a wired clothing rack.

"Come on." Temari replied, knocking on the door of the building. "This is our first stop of the day."

"Okay." I replied, moving in beside her.

Suddenly, the door swung open and a woman stepped out. She was in her late thirties, with a small child hanging on to the hem of her light green dress, looking shyly up at us. She looked over at Temari and gave a warm, motherly smile.

"Ah, there you are Temari!" she said sweetly. "And I'm guessing that this pretty young lady is Esther?"

"Yes." Temari said, giving a small laugh. "It's been a while hasn't it, Ana?"

"Yes, yes." She replied. "Well, please come in. I've set up a small room with some sample linens to see which match the young lady's taste."

"You're always ahead of the game, Ana." Temari said, as she stepped in the door way.

I followed in behind her, closing the door after me. Inside was a large open room, with a pretty table that looked out to the high rising rock wall that protected the village, and to the bright blue sky. It looked like a nice place to sit and think.

Ana laughed. "Well, I did have some help. Right, Addie?"

The small child looked up at Temari, and then at me and gave a huge, childish smile."Mommy told me to pick out some pretty colors."

"Thank you." I replied, giving her a warm smile. "It was hard work wasn't it?"

"Well," Ana said, brushing her hand gently over Addie's light brown curls, "Let's go and find out."

She led us up the small flight of stairs to a quite spacious extra room. All along the room were several different types of fabrics in different amounts. Still, the most breathtaking thing to me were all the luminous colors that ranged across the rainbow. It was like walking into a princess' dressmakers working quarters.

"Wow." I said, trying to say something.

Ana laughed, putting her hand on my shoulder. "Well,now, I'm glad to see that you approve of our selections. Let me get your dimensions, and we'll pick out some material for some dresses. Okay?"

"Of course!" I said happily.

As I stood as still as I could, Ana got my dimensions with little problem. She just smiled each time she met my eye, as of she was a young girl with a secret. I glanced from time from time to Temari, who was sitting on a small couch with Addie sitting on her lap, playing with a small, pretty doll. She looked like a mother. She looked at up at me and just gave a smaller smile and turned her eyes away, thinking of something.

"Well," Ana replied as she put the tape measure down. "It seems that you're dimensions are just like mine before I had my kids."

"Really?" I said, eying her still tiny figure. "You have more children?"

"Yes." She said, picking up a bundle of a silky textured blue cloth. "I have a son, Kudai, who's seven. He's at ninja training school at the moment."

"Oh." I replied as she laid a sample piece of the cloth against my arm. "He must be very happy."

"Yes, he is." She replied, giving a broader smile. "He tries so hard to be like his father. He wants to be a ninja that our whole village can depend upon when he's older."

"That's always a good thing." Temari said, speaking for the first time since we had entered the room.

"Ah, well, of course I know nothing on those matters." Ana said with a small sigh. "I am a seamstress after all."

"And a great one at that." Temari said, giving a smile.

"Thank you." Ana said cheerfully. "Well, I'm thinking some blues and soft purples would match well with your hair and complexion. Do you agree?"

"Of course, " I said, nodding my head. "Whatever you believe is best."

"If only all my other customers were like you." Ana said, shaking her head. "Well, it'll take me awhile, so come back at the beginning of next month alright?"

"Sure." I said, looking at my old dress.

In this room fit for a princess, I felt like a pauper. I had no reason to be here; it wasn't something I deserved. I wasn't rich or beautiful enough to be getting this kind of treatment. I should be back on the streets, living my quiet life in seclusion in the house of the sand sibs, with the humble clothes I had brought for myself.

Ana followed my gaze and then looked back at me. "I'll be right back."

"Sure." I replied, as she left the room in a hurry.

She returned in back in a moment, a blue dress in one of her hands, and a length of a shimmery blue material in her other hand. She came over and handed them to me.

"Put this on." She replied. "I want to see how this looks on you."

"Ok." I said somewhat hesitantly.

I slipped the dress on, and it fit almost perfectly. The sleeves ended at my elbow, and I could see the intricate embroidery that followed around it. It was made of some soft material that felt so comforting. It was truly something made for a princess.

"Hm." Ana said, as she tied the shimmery material tightly around my waist, cinching it in. "Something missing."

Addie got up off of Temari's lap and ran over to her mother. "I know what!"

She ran out of the room before he mother could ask what she had in mind, and appeared with a length of a ribbon in a similar blue. She handed it to her mother with a triumphant smile, as her mother took it from her and gave her a appreciative pat on the the head.

"Such a smart girl." Ana said, giving her daughter smile. "Could you go and get me that brush that's sitting beside Temari, Addie?"

The little girl nodded her head and ran over to the couch. She grabbed the small comb and handed it to her mother, who in return gave another smile. Addie just sat down beside her mother, her eyes watchful as she watched her mother brush my long, silky auburn hair into a gently side pony tail. After the small ribbon was ties securely as a band for my hair, Ana pulled a small piece of my bangs to the side of my face and stepped back.

"You look like a princess!" Addie said, wide-eyed at my transformation from pauper to make-believe princess.

"Really?" I said, twirling around in the beautiful dress.

"You do." Ana said, giving me a most needed approval. "I knew this dress would fit you perfectly, in shape and in style. You truly are a princess at heart aren't you?"

"I don't think so." I said, wiping happy tears off my cheeks. "I'm not pretty,courageous, or wise enough to be a princess."

"Don't say that!" Addie said, pulling gently on the hem of my dress. "We can be princesses together!"

I bent down and smiled at the little girl. Her logic was so simple sometimes, I wish I could be a child again and say such simple things. Now, growing up in the world of adults, where you must govern what you say and how you appear before people, it felt like the truth was always sugar-coated or to unbearable to believe.

"I should probably take off this beautiful dress before I get any more silly fantasies in my head." I responded jokingly, turning to Ana.

She shook her head. "No, don't do that. I meant for you too keep it; put it to some good use again."

"Oh, I couldn't possibly-" I started, looking down at this priceless gift.

"Please, take it." Ana said, picking up her daughter. "It's too small for me now, and I would rather you wear it and feel beautiful in it, instead of it just sitting in my closet without anyone using it."

"Oh, thank you!" I replied, giving her a hug. "Really, thank you!"

"You're very welcome." She said as she eyed the now standing Temari. "Please don't tell me that you two have to leave so soon."

"Well," Temari said, shrugging. "We do have some other things that we need to get done today, but they can wait if you need us to say."

"Good." Ana said, sounding pleased. "I was hoping you two could stay a little longer and have some tea with me."

"Please?" Addie said, reaching towards me.

I looked at Temari, who just rolled her eyes. "I guess we have no other choice. We'll stay." She replied.

"Yay!" Addie cried happily, making us all laugh. She seemed more pleased to have us here than her mother.

We were led down to the large, open spaced dining room on the first floor. Addie was situated on my lap, playing with her beautiful little princess doll. She made small sound effects from time to time, making me want to crack up and laugh at how cute she was.

"That's a pretty doll." I said, looking down at her. "Did you get it from your mom?"

"Nope!" She replied quite happily. "Gaara gave it to me last night."

"Really?" I said, trying to hide my astonishment. Gaara was not the type of person to give these kinds of gifts. Maybe he was finally softening up.

"Yes." Addie said, showing me the doll closer up. "He loves me the most out of all the people in the world. I'm going to marry him!"

Now I couldn't help but laugh at her cute little comment. A four year old in love with a twenty-one year old isolated man? Priceless. It was to funny to believe to be true, and one day I'm sure she'd figure that out.

"Don't laugh at me, older sis!" Addie said, trying to give me a stern look.

"I'm sorry." I replied, trying to stop laughing.

Ana stepped into the dining room, carrying a tray of tea and of a warm smelling desert, as well as a cup of milk for Addie. After she had served us all, she sat down at the seat opposite to mine drinking her tea in small sips.

"Addie told me told me Gaara visited you last night." I said casually.

Ana shot a quick look to her daughter, then put her tea down. "Oh, dear. Addie, didn't I tell you not to say anything?"

"You did?" Addie said, looking up at her mother with big eyes. "I don't remember that."

"That would explain alot." Her mother said, giving a small smile, as she turned to look at me. "Can you please try to act like you never knew any of this was planned by him?"

"Of course." I said, giving a reassuring smile. "Don't worry."

"Good." Ana said, taking a sip of her tea. "That saves me a whole load of stress to deal with the next time he comes around."

"He comes here often?" I asked, looking around.

"Yes." Ana said, laughing. "He loves to visit Addie and Kudai. I think he has a soft spot for kids."

"Really?" Temari said, giving a small laugh. "My brother is just full of surprises lately."

"Yes, I guess." Ana said, shaking her head. "Well, I should probably let you two go and get your other things done. Thank you for staying for tea."

"No problem." Temari said, getting up. "Thanks for everything, Ana."

"Yes," I replied, handing her Addie. "Especially thank you for the dress. I'll cherish it forever."

"No problem." Ana said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I'll see you two next month, alright?"

"Of course." Temari and I responded at the time.

We left Ana's house, and I was in the best mood. As we walked down the streets that led down to the main market, the way people looked at me changed. A lot of people just stopped and stared with wide-eyed amazement. I just kept a confident smile on my face as Temari scoffed silently and muttered things under her breath. We bought a few large bag fulls of food and headed out of the market, laughing at each other because of all the food we each we carrying. For four people, we sure ate a lot of food.

We left the market and headed to the more deserted part of the village, where the offices and hospital were located. We walked past a lot of men who were quietly talking and watching us as we passed by, quiet as mice. Soon, we got to the main office that held the Sand symbol on both sides of its outer walls. It brought back old memories of the first time I had come here, as well as the first time I met Baki face to face.

"Here." Temari said, as she put her bags of food down and pulled off the pack that was concealed on her back. "Could you give these back to Baki? I'll take your food back to the house."

"Are you sure?" I asked, handing her my bags. "It seems like a little too much for you."

She shook her head. "It's not. I always got groceries by myself. This is no problem."

"Alright." I said, laughing. "I'll be back soon, ok?"

"Sure thing, princess." Temari said teasingly as she left down the road.

I walked into the building, to be greeted by a secretary who sat in a large table at the entrance of the building. I told her my business, and she got up and showed me the way to Baki's office. She stopped me at the doorway, as she knocked at the door with three quick raps.

"Come in." Baki's booming voice called from behind the door.

"Baki." The secretary said, poking her head through the door. "There's a young woman here that says she had some books to return to you."

"Ah!" Baki said. "Please let her in."

I entered the office to see Baki standing by his desk, smiling at me. "Hello, Esther. It's been quite a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes." I said, smiling. "Temari sent me to return some books that she had borrowed from you."

"Ah." He said, nodding. "You can give them to me, and I'll put them back later."

"Sure." I said, as I handed him the bag full of books.

"Please, sit down." He said politely, as he sat back down at his desk. "Would you like some tea?"

"Oh, no thank you." I replied. "We're just about to eat and I promised Temari I'd help with dinner tonight."

"Ah." He replied, giving a small laugh. "You're very kind hearted. You do so many good things for that family."

"I don't think so." I replied, scratching my head."I should be thanking you, for giving Gaara a day off."

"He needed it." Baki said, frowning a little. "That boy has been overworking himself for too long, and I had to step in and say something. It seemed like he had a lot on his mind, other than his work here in my offices."

"Oh." I said, looking down. "That's all my fault."

"Don't say that." Baki said truthfully. "I heard from Temari right after the whole incident happened between the two of you. I also confronted Gaara about, and he confessed to it as well. From the way the both of them spoke on it, you were the innocent victim and I know it to be true. You still have the scars from that night, don't you?"

"Yes." I replied, my head down. "I'm quite alright with them. I don't think of them as scars anymore; they're more like a part of the past when Gaara and I didn't communicate enough and we had to pay for it."

"Is that the way that you seem them?" He asked quietly. "I never thought of them like that."

"That's because," I whispered, rubbing my arms. "I have to remember that not everything can be perfect; we grow from our mistakes."

"Nicely said." Baki said, getting up from his desk "Do you think Gaara applies that to his own life?"

"I think he does." I said, looking up. "I think the realization of that night has impacted him to change the way that he deals with things. I also think that he has the realization of what he truly is."

"And what would that be from your perspective?" Baki said, watching me.

"He's a man, just like you and Kankuro and everyone else in this world." I said, firm in what I was saying. "He just holds more power than a regular person does, but that doesn't mean that he should be treated like he was born a monster out of his will."

"You acknowledge his power, but you don't use it to identify him with it." Baki said, giving a small smile. "I think you're the only person who's ever said that about Gaara."

"I wish that I wasn't." I replied reluctantly, scratching my head. "I wish that more people would see him the way that I do."

"Maybe one day they will." Baki said optimistically. "Hopefully, after he steps in and becomes Kazekage, people will see his true inner strength; the strength of a leader that he has without the help of Sabaku. Still, it will be probably still be hard for him then. Not everyone will stop seeing him as a monster."

"Ah." I said, looking down. By Boggy, it was so sad and frustrating. I wish people would just give Gaara a chance!

"When he does become the leader of the Sand," Baki said, interrupting my thoughts. "He'll need somebody there to support him. Temari and Kankuro will be there for him, like the siblings they are, but there's somethings that Gaara keeps to himself because he doesn't want to burden them with his thoughts and problems. Do you think you could be that person?"

I looked up at Baki, with a confidant look in my eyes. I didn't need any time to decide. "I will be that person. Gaara is the person who is most important to me, and I'll stand beside him, there through everything that he struggles and accomplishes. I will never let him walk alone again."

Baki looked at me, his face expressionless for a moment, but then he smiled. "You're a very headstrong young woman, aren't you? You remind me so much of my daughter."

"Thank you." I said, not sure if it was a compliment or an insult.

"You've given me a lot to think about." Baki said truthfully, with a sigh. "Well, you should probably be heading home soon, correct?"

"Ah, yes!" I said, standing up. "Temari probably already started cooking dinner without me!"

Baki laughed. "Ah. Well, let me walk you home then. It's not proper for a young woman to be walking home in the dark. I'd love to say that our village was safe, but I can't. We're not perfect."

"Thank you." I said, smiling at the older man. "I think that would put them at ease, knowing I had someone to walk home with."

We headed out of Baki's office, into the early night. The village was deathly quiet, except for an eerie wind the swept across the sand. I was glad that Baki was with me, because who knows what I would have been thinking walking back home. We headed out down some narrow streets, Baki studying the scenery around us. I knew it was probably pretty awkward for him to be walking home with me, a girl half his age. As we approached the street that the house was located on, Baki began to speak to me for the first time since we had left.

"Ana gave you the dress that you're wearing, didn't she?" Baki asked randomly, as we turned a corner.

"Ah, yes." I replied, looking down at the shimmery sash. "How did you know?"

"I remember my wife making it for her eighteenth birthday, a year before she got married." Baki said, closing his eyes. "I could remember the huge smile plastered on Ana's face as she pulled it out of the box. I remember that she wore it the night that her husband asked for her hand in marriage, and the time she came over to tell us that she was going to have Kudai."

"Oh!" I said, looking up at Baki as I rubbed my hand against the dress. "Ana's your daughter?"

"Yes." Baki said, with a laugh. "The only family I have left in this world. My wife died a year after Kudai was born, and so now all I'm left with is Ana and her family. I'm thankful for each one of them. Without them, I probably would have been a cranky old man with nothing to live for."

"I'm sorry to hear about that." I said, looking down. "I feel kind of bad that Ana let me have this dress. I should return it."

"Ana knew what she was doing when she gave you the dress." Baki said, patting my shoulder. "My wife lives on in this dress, and in Ana. You deserve to be happy and feel like royalty, which is what Ana was trying to tell you. I think she was trying to tell you to keep going, because there's more awaiting you in the future."

"Ah." I said, smiling. "That fills my heart with joy. I think that was just what I needed to hear. I'm so thankful for Ana."

"That makes me happy, as well, knowing that my daughter has brought you some joy." Baki said, laughing a little bit. "Well, this is where we say goodbye."

I looked to my right and saw that we were right in front of the house. "I guess so. Thank you for walking me home, Baki, as well as for everything else."

"You're quite welcome." Baki said. "Tell that boy that I want to hear some positive things that happened on his day off, alright?"

"Of course." I replied, laughing. "Good night, Baki."

"Same to you." He called over his shoulder, as he walked down the street.

I knocked on the door of the house. In a spilt second, the door opened and Gaara stood on the other side, looking at me. He was probably worrying about me. He ushered me inside of the house, and closed the door behind me with a quiet click.

"Please," He said, looking down at me. "Tell me that you did not walk through the streets alone."

"Of course not." I replied, laughing. "Baki insisted that he walk me home. Before I forget, he said that he wants to hear some positive things that happened on your day off tomorrow."

"Really?" Gaara said coldly. "That old man is full of wise cracks."

"Gaara!" I said, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. "Don't be so mean! He means good."

"I'll let you be the judge of that." He said, leading me into the kitchen. "Kankuro and Temari have been waiting for a while to eat, so let's not waste anymore time talking."

"Oops." I replied, feeling a little bit guilty. "You guys should have started without me."

We sat down at the kitchen table, where the two of them were all ready seated. They just took one look at me, then looked at each other, and shook their heads. I took my seat beside Temari and looked at her, expecting an answer, but she just looked away and started to eat.

"Nice dress." Kankuro said, after a moment.

"Thanks." I said, giving him a smile. "Ana gave it to me. She's a very kind person, and her daughter is so precious, too."

"Yeah." Kankuro said, nodding. "She's been good to our family."

"Yes, she has." Temari said, agreeing with her brother. "Anyway, we have to clean the house tomorrow. If I keep laying it off, this house will turn into a pig sty."

"It's never been that dirty!" I replied, laughing. "I'll help of course. Maybe we'll get done quickly and we'll have some free time to ourselves."

"Yeah right." She scoffed. "Maybe in a million years."

"Well," Kankuro said, getting up fro the table. "I would love to help, but I have training duty at the school."

"That sounds fun." I said, smiling.

"Sure." He said, shaking his head. "You try working with some crazy little kids who look at you like you were speaking some alien language when you tell them to do something."

"And I," Gaara said, interrupting the conversation as he got up. "Have to go back to work tomorrow."

"It's not like we were going to ask you to help anyway." Temari said sarcastically. "We all know how much you love to clean."

"Then how is it that my room is always the cleanest?" He asked, shooting her a look.

"It's because he never uses it." Temari muttered to me.

"Well," I laughed, as I got up from the table. "I love how you guys get worked up over the silliest little things."

I put my dishes down into the sink, and turned to see Gaara looking at me. I just sent him a smile, and he just walked off down the hallway, probably to the living room. I guess I would go and stay with him for a while until it got to late, since I was out the entire day. I looked at Temari, who gave me a small smile, and shooed me away with her hand. I laughed, and walked down the hallway. I think she was getting used to me and Gaara talking right before we went to sleep.

I walked into the dimly lit living room, where Gaara had gone. He was sitting on the couch, his head leaning against one of his hands. He was looking at me, and I couldn't help but smile. I came in and sat beside him, tucking my feet underneath me.

"You had a long day." He said quietly, looking down at me.

"Not really." I said, shrugging. "I enjoyed being out in the fresh air. I wish I wasn't confined in here all the time."

"You're not confined by any means." He replied. "You can go out of the house, but it would give me more peace of mind if you stayed here."

"Why?" I teased. "Do you think I'm not safe in your village?"

"Dressed like that, of course you're not." Gaara scoffed. "I have a few clues to what some of those men were thinking looking at you."

"Really?" I said, continuing my teasing. "And what would they be thinking?"

"I have no reason to tell you." He said, shaking his head slowly. "I'm sure Kankuro would tell you if you asked. He was the one who said you looked pretty, not me."

"Hey!" I said, scrunching my nose at him "You don't think I'm pretty?"

"I never said that." He replied, putting his arm gently around me.

"But you were implying it." I muttered, as I felt my heart beat faster. His touch usually did that to me, now that I think about it. It was strange that I had just noticed it now.

"Whatever you say." He muttered back, his own little way of joking with me.

I leaned my head against his side, and let out a small sigh of relief. The way I was leaning against him, I could hear his heartbeat. It was a fast, pounding thump that filled my ears like a gentle drum. It was really soothing, just sitting here knowing that he was real and alive with me.

"Tired much?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah." I said, stifling a yawn.

His arm moved down mine slowly at first, as if he wasn't sure what he was doing. Then, he moved it up to my head, and started to stroke my head slowly. He did this a lot; it was like he wasn't sure if he should be touching me at all. I'm sure this was all weird to him, since he never had someone this close to him. I just smiled and closed my eyes.

"Hey." I said, waiting for a reply.

"What?" He asked.

"I was just wondering," I said quietly, "But what are you going to say to Baki tomorrow? Did something good actually happen today?"

It was silent for a moment. "Yes," He replied so quietly that I almost didn't hear him. "Something good did happen today."

"Really?" I asked. "I'd like to hear about it, too."

"You will." He replied, as I fell asleep. "Later, I promise."

**AN:Yay! Yet another chappie. Please review and tell me what you think!**


	18. Me, Of All People Pt 2

**Chapter 15: Me, Of All People Part 2**

Another month flew by like the ticking of the second hand on a clock. It was little less than a half of a year that Gaara would become the next Kazekage, the most influential person in this entire village, and one of few in the entire ninja world. It felt like he was slowly slipping away from my fingers, becoming less focused on me, and more focused on his work, his thoughts and actions becoming more secluded and almost cold. I couldn't complain though; I would never want to interfere with the work that he had to get done. I wanted to see him succeed in whatever did.

The days weren't as lifeless now, in comparison to before. Gaara allowed me to be out of the house, walking around the outskirts of the village with either Temari or Kankuro with me. It was nice; we usually finished walking just as the sun was setting across the vast desert, shooting light against the millions of grains of sands. You would think I would get bored of seeing it, but it didn't; it was a breathtaking experience every single time.

One night, we,all four of us to my surprise, actually sat down for dinner at the same time. Usually, since Gaara seemed to be working really late, I would eat very little with Temari and Kankuro, and eat later on with Gaara, so he wouldn't be alone. I was really content with this turn of events, because it felt like we were a family again, and the fact that Gaara was home from work earlier than usual.

"Not that much work today?" Kankuro asked in between mouthfuls of food, his inner lack of courtesy and manners coming across almost as childish.

"Yes." Gaara said, looking at his brother. That was the end of that conversation.

"That's good." Temari said, sighing. "Now poor Esther doesn't have to wait till late into the night to eat. You make her suffer along with you, Gaara."

"Don't say that!" I said to Temari, as I dropped my fork onto the table. "I'm not suffering. I just feel better knowing that Gaara has some company as he's eating."

"Sure." Temari and Kankuro said at the same time, looking at each other through sideways glances.

The three of us started to laugh, while Gaara just looked at each of us slowly in his blank, scrutinizing manner. It was not often that we had moments like this. It made our lives seemed so carefree, the way it used to be when we were younger.

"You guys sure love to tease me don't you?" I asked, eying them closely.

"Of course." Temari said, patting me on the shoulder. "Where else would we get our source of entertainment?"

"She has a point." Kankuro said, smiling at me with a faint twinkle of mischief in his eyes.

"Thanks." I replied, as I rolled my eyes. "I feel so loved."

"Anyway," Gaara said, getting up from the table abruptly. "I don't have to go in to work tomorrow, so I can take up some chores, as well. It would only be fair."

I smiled even wider at the news. Another day for Gaara to rest! I looked over at Temari, who was eying Kankuro. He just shrugged, and started to laugh. Temari looked at me, then started laughing again. Whatever the joke was, I probably missed it.

"Well," I said, as Gaara left the dining room. "Thank you for the great food, like always."

"No problem." Temari said, smiling. "Well, since I don't have kitchen duties for the night, I think I'll hit the sack early tonight. Have fun cleaning, 'kuro."

"Yeah, yeah." Kankuro said, sitting at the table. "Thanks for rubbing it in, 'mari. Good night."

"Good night." I said to her as she walked down the stairs.

"Night." She called. "Don't stay up talking too much, alright?"

"I'll try." I said, laughing slightly as she winked at me.

"I'll just tell you goodnight now." Kankuro said, as he got up from the table. "This is going to take a while."

"Are you sure you don't want any help?" I asked, looking at all of the plates scattered on the table around us.

"No, it's fine." He said, shaking his head. "It's my job, not yours. You did your share of chores for the day already, so you're free."

"Alright, if you say so." I replied reluctantly. "Good night, Kankuro."

"Night." He replied as I walked out of the room.

I walked into the living room, and jumped into the seat beside Gaara on the couch. I looked up at him, trying to read what he was thinking. He just looked at me, and shook his head, probably thinking I was irritating after all the work he probably had to go through today while he was cooped up in that isolated building he had to venture to seven days a week.

"What are you all happy about?" He said, looking away.

"You having a day off!" I said, laughing. "I'm glad you have a day to relax again."

"Who said I was going to relax?" He said. "I'm spending the whole day with you, so obviously that won't be the case."

"What?" I exclaimed, shaking his arm. "Are you serious?"

"When am I never serious?" He scoffed.

"Oh, thank goodness!" I squealed, hugging him. "Now I really do have reason to be extremely happy!"

"Good." He said, slipping his arm around me. "We have to go see Ana early in the morning. I spoke with her tonight, and she said your dresses were done."

"Even better." I said, leaning my head against him. "I can't wait for tomorrow, Gaara."

"Me either." Gaara said, letting go of me. "Well, I think you should be off to bed. I at least want you to be well rested. You have been losing sleep over me, or so it seems."

"Oh, not really." I said, getting up. "Well, I wouldn't mind a few extra hours of sleep. Good night, Gaara. See you in the morning."

"Good night, Esther." He replied, watching me as I left the room.

As I walked back to my room, I couldn't stop smiling as my heart beat rapidly in my chest. Tomorrow I would be spending the day with Gaara. Just the two of us, enjoying each other's company, finally. I hardly thought I would be able to fall asleep tonight with all this joy rushing through my brain.

**AN: Well, here's another chapter (surprise, surprise.) I didn't want to leave my final story of my childhood show hanging, so there's one more chapter and I will be through with RTD. Thank you to those who will read this, and who have enjoyed this story.**


	19. Me, Of All People Pt 3

**Chapter 16: Me, Of All People Part 3**

"Wake up." Gaara whispered, waking me from my sleep.

I cracked my eyes open, to see him sitting on the edge of my bed, looking at me. I sat up, and stifled a small yawn. I smiled at him, as I ran a hand through my hair.

"Good morning." I replied, still half-asleep.

"I'll be waiting in the kitchen for you. Be quiet as you move around the house, though. Everyone else is still asleep." He replied, as he got up and left

I looked over to Temari's bed, and sure enough she was there, sleeping away. I guess Gaara really wasn't kidding when he told me last night that we were going to be up early. I couldn't complain though; his company was all I needed today.

I got out of bed slowly and moved over to the closet that Temari and I shared. I flipped through my dresses, trying to find one to wear. On a usual day, I would have just threw on something that was clean and comfortable, because I was just helping out around the house. Today, I had no idea where or what I was going to be doing with Gaara, so I needed to look my best. Finally, I decided just to wear the dress that Ana had let me keep. We were going to see her, after all. I pulled it on, and brush my hair into a high ponytail, and headed out the door with its sash in my hand. I walked quietly passed Kankuro's room, hearing his quiet snoring from outside the door. I smiled for a moment, imagining him sprawled out on his bed like a like kid while he slept. I let out a small giggle, and headed up the stairs into the kitchen.

Gaara sat at the table, staring into the cup of tea that he held in his hands. As I approached, his head shot up, as if he was day-dreaming. I just shook my head, and stopped as I stood beside him.

"You're done." He replied, looking up at me.

"Sort of." I said, looking at the sash. "Do you think you could tie this sash for me?"

He just looked at the sash, then at me. After a moment, he got up and took the sash from me. I turned around, and I felt him gently wrap the sash around my waist, and tie it securely. I turned back around and gave him a smile.

"Thank you." I said.

"No problem." He replied, as he sat back down at the table.

I just sat beside him, drinking my tea as I gazed off into the horizon. I just sat, watching little images float by my eyes, until I finally snapped back into reality. I looked over at him, and he was just watching me, a questioning look on his face.

"Are you alright?" he asked, sounding almost concerned.

"Yeah." I said, straightening out. "I just spaced out for a second. Sorry."

"No problem." he said, as he got up. "Well, we should be going. Are you ready?"

"Sure." I said, getting up. "Let's go."

As we walked out the door, I got a better understanding of what time it was. The sky was still dark, meaning that it was still way before most of the people in the village woke up. Sure enough, the village was a deserted as well, a desert. As we walked through street after street, approaching the front of the village, the more I felt like we were walking in a ghost town. What made it more eerie was that neither of us said a word until we reached the entrance of the village.

"What are we doing here?" I asked Gaara.

"You'll see in a second." He said, as he examined the towering rock wall. "Now, come stand next to me."

"Okay." I said reluctantly, as I came and stood beside him.

He looked down at me, and I could see that he had a hint of something behind his eyes. Whatever he was going to do with me was a total mystery. Still, I was kind of anticipating what he was scheming in his brain.

"Now hold on tightly." He replied, closing his eyes. "And don't you dare close your eyes."

"Fine." I replied, getting hold of his arm.

Suddenly, the earth beneath us started to quiver and shake beneath us. If he was planning to surprise me with an earthquake, he sure did. Then, there was a quick rumble, and the sand that was accumulating beneath our feet shot up, pushing us off the ground. I am so glad that I was holding on to Gaara, or I would have fallen off. Soon, the sand stopped moving, and we were at the top of the large rock wall. Gaara took my hand, which was clinging for dear life to his arm, and helped me off of the sand and onto rock.

"Well?" He asked, looking down at me. "You okay?"

"That," I replied, looking at him, wide eyed. "Was so cool!"

"I'm glad you liked it." He replied, a hint of laughter behind his words. "Most women would have lost their composure and screamed. You, however, didn't even mutter a single thing the entire way up."

"I guess I'm special." I replied, squeezing his hand.

He just looked down at me, and just shook his head. I just scrunched my nose at him, but ended up smiling in the end. Being with him just made me happy that I couldn't stay mad at him.

"Anyway," I said, looking around. "What are we doing up here?"

"You'll see in a second." He replied, as he looked out across the desert. "Just look out into the desert-you'll see what I brought you up here for."

I just nodded, and looked across the desert, where the sky was beginning to lighten up. After a few minutes, A light slowly crept across the farthest edge of the desert, off in the horizon. Soon, the sun slowly crept over the horizon, spreading the light across the desert. As the light spread, the sand started to sparkle and gleam like little gems. It was so beautiful, getting to watch all of this from our little spot high above the village. Soon, there was ripple of wind that spread across the vast desert, and everything started to swirl around and change colors as the light hit them at different angles. As soon as it had come, it was over, and the desert returned to its normal self.

"Wow!" I breathed, blinking. "Did that really happen?"

"Yes." Gaara said, squeezing my hand. "This is the way the desert looks every morning as the sun hits it for the first time."

"It was so breathtaking." I said, looking up at him. "I thought seeing the sunset in the afternoon was beautiful, but this tops it. Thank you for showing it to me."

"No problem." He replied, looking down at me. "Actually, I want every morning to be like this. I mean, that you-"

"What?" I asked.

Gaara sighed and looked down. "Sit down. Let me think out loud for a second, alright?"

"Sure." I replied, sitting down on a large rock a few feet away from where we stood. Gaara sounded like he had a lot on his mind. I wanted to help, but I didn't know how.

"Well," He started again, looking across the desert. "As you know, I'm going to become the next Kazekage. After that happens, my time practically vanishes, because of all the time I'll have to put into protecting the village. Then, I won't be able to see Temari, Kankuro, and you as much as I'd like. I wish that I could change how many hours I work, but I can't. It's just not possible. It's already put me through a lot of stress and I put a lot of thought and mind into already."

"I already know that." I said, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear. "If you're trying to reassure me, I'm fine. I know that your job comes before everything else, and I'll support you no matter what. Somehow, though, I think you have more to say, right?"

"Right." He said, turning to me. "You see, as I told you, I tried to think of anyway that I could get more time outside of work. Especially time with you, since that was the thing that was bothering me the most. I finally got to a conclusion."

"What would that be?" I asked, expecting him to say that he would cut corners some how after he started working and things were under control.

He fidgeted, looking down as he got closer to me."Just hear me out alright? This one option is the best one, and I agree with it wholeheartedly, but you have the highest opinion, so keep that in mind. I need to be able to protect you after I become Kazekage, and this is the best way that I can do that."

"You sound so silly." I said, shaking my head. "I don't need to be protected. Nothing bad has happened to me, and I don't think anything bad will happen to me."

"I know, but I just need to have the assurance that you are always safe. Still, that's just a cover-up."

"You're confusing me." I said, truthfully. "Gaara, what's really on your mind?"

He just looked at me, and I saw the gentle, almost frightened look in his eyes. That look made me really concerned, and my mind started to panic through all of the options of what he was going to say to me. Was I going to have to leave? Were we in danger? What was going to change after this moment?

Suddenly, he dropped to his knees and took hold of my hand gently. "Esther," He said, looking into my eyes. "Will you marry me?"

"Huh?" I was overwhelmingly shocked. Did he really just say what I thought he did?

His eyes never strayed from my own as he began to talk again."Over all this time, I tried to deny the fact that there was a connection between us. But, as I came to realize through my own denial, there was a connection. I felt for you the way I thought I was unable to ever feel. You showed me that there was light, and music, in the bland, orderly world that I lived in. You give me a sense of completion, and I know I can never be truly alone now that you're in my life. I truly believe I love you, and this way I can know that I have the assurance that you will be with me forever. Will you marry me?"

I sat there stunned. Gaara was confessing his love to me. He was asking me to marry him. Oh.. my.. Boggy. Oh my great colorful hippopotamus that floats around in the sky. Was I dreaming? No. It wasn't- it couldn't be. Gaara was really asking me to marry him. I just started to cry from all the happiness that was building up inside of me. He loved me, and he wanted to be with me forever. I think I'm about to explode.

"Hey." He said, reaching up one of his hands to dry away the tears that lingered on my cheeks. "I'm sorry. I've upset you haven't I?"

"No, no." I hiccuped, shaking my head. "I'm not upset. I'm just..so happy."

"Really?" He asked, giving my hand a light squeeze.

"Yes." I said, nodding my head. "I love you so much, and I want to be by your side forever, too. I would love to marry you, Gaara. I've always wanted to marry you. Always."

He let out a sigh of relief as I looked up to meet his gaze. The frightened look that he held in his eyes a few moments ago was completely gone. Now, it was just a calm, almost happy look that shone there. It made the tears spring back into my eyes, because for once, I knew without a doubt I had given Gaara some kind of joy that no one else could ever give him.

"Wonderful." He replied, letting go of my hand. He dug around in his tunic, and soon pulled out a ring. The ring held a sparkling green crystal in the middle, with two smaller white crystals on each side of it. It was one word: beautiful. "Now that you've agreed, I guess I'm supposed to put this on your finger, right?"

I laughed a little."Right."

He took my left hand and slipped the ring on my ring finger. It almost perfectly, but it wasn't too loose that it would fall off at any moment. I just looked down at it, then at him. Finally, I just let out a small scream of joy and wrapped my arms around him.

"Thank you." I blubbered into his tunic. "I'll cherish it forever."

"That's good." He said, rubbing my back gently. "And I'll get to cherish you forever. It's only fair."

"Of course." I replied, laughing again.

We just sat there like that for a few minutes. Finally, I just pushed away gently, and he moved his arms so that I could get up again. I looked up, and I saw that he had this almost smile on his face. It was so wonderful that I thought my heart was going to explode. This was the first time Gaara had a happy look on his face.

"You look like a mess." He said after a while, looking at my tear-stained face.

"It's all your fault." I replied, shaking my head. "But it's ok. I'll forgive you this time."

"Thanks." He replied, getting up. "I wouldn't want to be on bad terms with you after I just finished proposing."

I just looked at him, a smile on face, as I shook my head. I tried getting up, but in didn't succeed. He just looked down at me, scoffed, but ended up helping me up. I knew what he was thinking: "Great, I fell in love with a klutz." Well, at least our marriage would be full of laughter and jokes!

"Ready to go?" He asked, taking my hand.

"Sure." I said, smiling. "Where to next?"

"You'll see." He said, turning away. "Come on."

He led me back over to the ledge, where the we were led down my another pillar of sand. . I looked up at him, trying to get an idea of what we were doing next. He just looked down at me and squeezed my hand. Suddenly, he took off running, and I was pulled along with him We ran across the desert for a few minutes, until Gaara abruptly stopped and sat down on the warm desert sand. I just sat down beside him, laying my head against his shoulder.

"Now that was random." I said, taking in a deep breath.

"Sorry." He said, digging his feet into the sand. "I just needed to release some energy that I was building up."

"It's fine." I said, fixing my wind-blown hair. "I just never imagined that you were the type of person to randomly go running through the desert."

"I can do whatever I please." He said, ruffling my hair. "You should know that by now."

"Of course." I said, mockingly. "You do as you choose, and no one in their right mind would oppose you."

"Correct." He replied, dumping some sand onto my feet. "So, let's just say, I wanted to throw sand at you, no one could stop me right?"

"Wrong!" I replied, laughing. "I would definitely fight back."

He just threw some sand at me, and stared at me, a competitive look in his eyes. I just grinned, and threw a handful of sand at him, remembering how this same thing had happened on our way back to the village, only with grass. I started laughing, as I took two handfuls of sand and threw them at him.

The sand stuck to his clothes, as well as his hair, making me laugh.

"What's so funny?" He asked, throwing another handful of sand at me.

"You look so... ridiculous!" I said, laughing louder.

"And you're talking?" He said, chuckling. "You look like you just came out of a sand storm."

I just started laughing again, as I started to wipe the sand off of my dress and hair. The two of us got back up, and we made our way back slowly to the entrance of the village. Unlike earlier, there were ninjas stationed at the gate, their postures telling me that it was going to take a lot to get through them. They nodded to Gaara as we past, and just stared at me, their eyes scrutinizing me. I just lowered my gaze as I hid behind Gaara, just wanting to be invisible; I was one of those people who hated being summarized by the way that I looked. Finally, we were away from them and I was able to breathe easily.

"You alright?" Gaara asked quietly as we made our way down the small streets that led to Ana's house. "You seemed uncomfortable back there."

"Oh, I just didn't like the way those ninjas were staring at me." I said, patting him on the arm. "Don't worry about it."

"You say that now."

I rolled my eyes. "Gaara, you worry about me too much."

"I have every right to." He said, as we turned onto Ana's street.

I just started to laugh, as he went up to Ana's door and knocked. We waited, looking away from each other, until the door opened and a boy came into view; he had the same hair color as Addie, but darker eyes. He stared up at Gaara with big eyes, then quickly at me. Soon, he turned and called into the house.

"Mom!" He yelled. "Gaara and some lady are at the door!"

"Kudai!" Ana's voice called back. "Let them in please! I'm cooking breakfast."

He turned back around and grabbed Gaara by the arm, and pulled him into the house. I followed behind, watching Gaara. This was the first time that I had ever seen him around children. From the last time I had been at Ana's house, I had heard that he had a soft spot for kids. Was it really true?

"Come on, Gaara." Kudai said, letting go of Gaara's arm. "Addie was so excited last night when she heard that you were coming over that she fell asleep on the couch so she could see you as soon as she woke up. She's still sleeping, so go and wake her up."

"Sure." Gaara said, ruffling Kudai's hair. "Come on, Esther."

We walked into the living room, where Addie was curled up on the couch, just like Kudai had said. She was clutching her princess doll and a light pink blanket that was draped around her tin body. Gaara walked over to the side of the couch, and squatted down. He gently shook the little girl, who yawned in response, and slowly opened her eyes. As soon as she realized that Gaara was sitting right next to her, she shot up and wrapped her tiny arms around his neck.

"Gaara!" She said happily. "Yay!"

"Good morning, Addie." He said, as she let go. "I brought you something."

"What?" Addie said, amazed.

Gaara dug around in his tunic, and soon pulled out a little wrapped package that he handed to her. She opened it hastily, and a few candies fell out onto the floor. She squealed, and put her hands around Gaara's neck one more time.

"Thanks!" She said, quite happy. "These are my favorites."

"She gets candies again?" Kudai called from beside me. "Man, that's not fair."

"I brought you some too." Gaara said, throwing a bag in the air. "Catch."

Kudai caught it with no problem, and laughed as he opened his bag to find candies in there too. He then noticed me staring, and started off towards the kitchen. For some reason, I guess he wasn't happy having me around.

"I'm hungry." Addie said, as she got off the couch. "Let's go eat!"

"Sure." Gaara replied, as he followed her out of the living room.

As he passed by me, he put his hand on my back, leading me out the door. His hand was really warm, and it made my heart beat faster. I turned around to look at him, and he just stared back at me. I just smiled at him, and turned back around as we entered the dining room, where Ana was handing a bag to Kudai. She looked up at us, and smiled.

"There you two are." She said, wiping here hands on her apron. "Good morning."

"Good morning, Ana." I replied. "You're not too busy, are you?"

"Oh, no, I'm fine." She said, shaking her head. "I was just giving Kudai his lunch for the day, since he has to go to the training school. Speaking of which, you should probably be heading out, right Kudai?"

"Yep." He said, nodding. "I have a lot of stuff to learn, so I can be a great ninja!"

"Alright," Ana said, ruffling his hair. "Tell Gaara and Esther goodbye and you can leave."

"Fine." Kudai muttered. "Bye, Gaara. Bye.. lady."

With that, he shot out of the dining room and out the door of the house. I just watched him leave, catching a glimpse of his childish smile as he closed the door. Ana looked up at me, shaking her head slowly.

"I'm sorry about his rudeness." Ana said, apologetically. "I don't know what's gotten into him."

"It's quite alright." I said, laughing. "I think I was the one who made him uncomfortable, but I can't exactly tell you why."

"It's because you're with Gaara! He's jealous." Addie cried, speaking for the first time since we had left the living room.

Ana laughed. "Well, I guess that explains it. Why don't the three of you sit down? I made you all breakfast."

"Always so thoughtful." I said, smiling at Ana. "You put yourself through too much trouble for us."

"Oh no!" She said, as she exited the room. "This is no trouble at all. I feel like I never do enough for you all!"

I turned to Gaara, and shook my head. He just stared at me for a moment, then nodded his head in agreement. Addie just looked between the two of us, her face scrunched up like she was trying to figure out what we were gesturing. Finally, with a little huff, she gave up and began to play with her doll.

Ana soon walked back into the room, a tray in her hands. She placed a plate in front of each of us, and a delicious smell soon wafted into my nose. I looked down into the plate to see a yummy looking fruit pastry, sprinkled with powdered sugar.

"Wow." I said, looking up at Ana. "You did overdo it."

"Think whatever you want." Ana said, sitting down beside Addie. "As long as you like it, that's all that matters."

I just smiled at her, and began to eat, as she set off to the kitchen again. I looked over at Gaara, who finally managed to look my way. He noticed my stare, and after sitting like that for a second, broke the silence we were sitting in.

"What?" He asked, the typical question a guy would ask if he didn't know what else to say.

"I just," I said, not sure how to say this, as I glanced over at Addie who was staring at us with her large childish eyes. "Want to tell Ana the good news, but I don't if I'll get it out."

"Don't worry about it." Gaara said, not taking a side. "If you want to tell her, go ahead. I won't spoil the surprise. If you don't want to, you can always come and tell her another time."

At that moment, Ana walked back into the room, carrying a cup of tea. I immediately shut my mouth, making the whole incident look more suspicious. Ana just glanced at me, then at the always silent Gaara, before taking her seat.

"So, why did it get all quiet all of a sudden?" Ana asked, after taking a long sip of her tea.

I swallowed the piece of food I was eating, and looked down. Please let me just get my thought together, Boggy Jones!

"Gaara and the lady want to tell you something, mama." Addie said, making it more awkward.

"Really?" Ana said, looking over at me. "And what would that be?"

I looked at Addie, then Ana, then Gaara. He just looked at me and nodded his head, like that would make the situation any easier than it was. I took a deep breath, and looked back at Ana.

"We're getting married." I said, the words sounding foreign and strange in my mouth. My brain hadn't fully registered the fact yet, so saying it was still weird to me.

Ana just stared at me for a second, and then she started to scream with the greatest delight ever. She ran over to Gaara and ruffled his hair, and then over to me, grabbing my hands in hers.

"Oh my goodness! I'm so excited for you two!" Ana squealed, acting more childish than I have ever seen her act. "I can't believe it. Oh my!"

I smiled, blushing like there was no tomorrow. Telling Ana was the right choice, and she gave seem to shine with all the happiness in the world at the news of it. I wasn't sure how everyone would react, but hopefully they would all be like Ana when they found out.

Addie looked at me, then back at her mother smiling largely. "Mama, I want to get married to Gaara too! Can I?"

We all looked at the little girl, and I couldn't help but laugh uncontrollably. She was so adorably innocent that hearing her say that was too cute to be true! She looked at me, frowned, then looked up at Gaara. What in the world could we say to her?

"Maybe another time, Addie." Her mother said, trying to give some reassurance, as fake as it was.

After picking up my dresses, Gaara led my hand in hand around the village for the first time since I had been here. I even got to go look at his office, and we sat together for a little bit as he explained some of the politics our marriage would have to work hand in hand with. There was nothing against a Kazekage getting married, but I had to be informed to what the basic outline of running the village came down to in terms of Gaara and for me. After seeming to get mildly offended at the restrictions/ ettiquette I was going to be going into for the long run, he decided to stop while he was ahead.

As we headed back home, I started to feel more anxious and jittery with each step that we took. Temari and Kankuro would have to find out today as well, since we already broke the news to Ana. What would the two of them think? They had never really expressed any opinion to me and Gaara being together, but after the "dark night" who knew what either of them really wanted to say about our relationship?

Gaara squeezed my hand as we walked through the front door, and I understood that as hard as it was for me to tell them, it was even harder for him. Temari and Kankuro were his siblings after all. Walking into the kitchen, we found them both laughing at the table, but they soon stopped as we came into view. Thankfully, Gaara was the one who broke the ice to them so I just sat there with my heart lodged into my throat. Temari looked at Kankuro, and after a moment, shot up from her chair and wrapped her arms around both of us. Kanuro ended up joining us too, and soon we were all standing around hugging each other or laughing like a bunch of bumbling idiots.

In that moment I knew that everything was going to be okay. Life here was going to be different, but that's what I was hoping for, right? With friends in Konoha, Ana, and the Sand Sibs, I doubt I would ever have a dull day as the Kazekage's wife, no matter what challenges it brought. Because as long as I had Gaara, I would have anything else I would ever need, and no one could ever ask for more

**AN: That's the end. Thanks to all who went along with this crazy ride of a story. It really was a treat to get to write. Hope you enjoyed! :)**


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